Wearable, wireless gas sensors using highly stretchable and transparent structures of nanowires and graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Jihun; Kim, Joohee; Kim, Kukjoo; Kim, So-Yun; Cheong, Woon Hyung; Park, Kyeongmin; Song, Joo Hyeb; Namgoong, Gyeongho; Kim, Jae Joon; Heo, Jaeyeong; Bien, Franklin; Park, Jang-Ung

2016-05-01

Herein, we report the fabrication of a highly stretchable, transparent gas sensor based on silver nanowire-graphene hybrid nanostructures. Due to its superb mechanical and optical characteristics, the fabricated sensor demonstrates outstanding and stable performances even under extreme mechanical deformation (stable until 20% of strain). The integration of a Bluetooth system or an inductive antenna enables the wireless operation of the sensor. In addition, the mechanical robustness of the materials allows the device to be transferred onto various nonplanar substrates, including a watch, a bicycle light, and the leaves of live plants, thereby achieving next-generation sensing electronics for the `Internet of Things' area.Herein, we report the fabrication of a highly stretchable, transparent gas sensor based on silver nanowire-graphene hybrid nanostructures. Due to its superb mechanical and optical characteristics, the fabricated sensor demonstrates outstanding and stable performances even under extreme mechanical deformation (stable until 20% of strain). The integration of a Bluetooth system or an inductive antenna enables the wireless operation of the sensor. In addition, the mechanical robustness of the materials allows the device to be transferred onto various nonplanar substrates, including a watch, a bicycle light, and the leaves of live plants, thereby achieving next-generation sensing electronics for the `Internet of Things' area. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c6nr01468b

Highly stable, extremely high-temperature, nonvolatile memory based on resistance switching in polycrystalline Pt nanogaps

PubMed Central

Suga, Hiroshi; Suzuki, Hiroya; Shinomura, Yuma; Kashiwabara, Shota; Tsukagoshi, Kazuhito; Shimizu, Tetsuo; Naitoh, Yasuhisa

2016-01-01

Highly stable, nonvolatile, high-temperature memory based on resistance switching was realized using a polycrystalline platinum (Pt) nanogap. The operating temperature of the memory can be drastically increased by the presence of a sharp-edged Pt crystal facet in the nanogap. A short distance between the facet edges maintains the nanogap shape at high temperature, and the sharp shape of the nanogap densifies the electric field to maintain a stable current flow due to field migration. Even at 873 K, which is a significantly higher temperature than feasible for conventional semiconductor memory, the nonvolatility of the proposed memory allows stable ON and OFF currents, with fluctuations of less than or equal to 10%, to be maintained for longer than eight hours. An advantage of this nanogap scheme for high-temperature memory is its secure operation achieved through the assembly and disassembly of a Pt needle in a high electric field. PMID:27725705

ADVANCEMENT OF THE RHIC BEAM ABORT KICKER SYSTEM.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

ZHANG,W.AHRENS,L.MI,J.OERTER,B.SANDBERG,J.WARBURTON,D.

2003-05-12

As one of the most critical system for RHIC operation, the beam abort kicker system has to be highly available, reliable, and stable for the entire operating range. Along with the RHIC commission and operation, consistent efforts have been spend to cope with immediate issues as well as inherited design issues. Major design changes have been implemented to achieve the higher operating voltage, longer high voltage hold-off time, fast retriggering and redundant triggering, and improved system protection, etc. Recent system test has demonstrated for the first time that both blue ring and yellow ring beam abort systems have achieved moremore » than 24 hours hold off time at desired operating voltage. In this paper, we report break down, thyratron reverse arcing, and to build a fast re-trigger system to reduce beam spreading in event of premature discharge.« less

Development of technical solutions for securing stable operation of the intermediate separation and steam reheating system for the K-1000-60/3000 turbine unit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trifonov, N. N.; Kovalenko, E. V.; Nikolaenkova, E. K.; Tren'kin, V. B.

2012-09-01

The intermediate separation and steam reheating system and its equipment are described. Problems concerned with the presence of condensate in the stack's lower chamber and in the removing chamber, with cavitation failure of the separated moisture pumps, with misalignment of heating steam flowrates, with unstable draining of heating steam condensate, with occurrence of self oscillations, etc. are considered. A procedure for determining the level in removing heating steam condensate from steam reheater elements is proposed. Technical solutions for ensuring stable operation of the intermediate separation and steam reheating system and for achieving smaller misalignment between the apparatuses are developed.

808-nm diode-pumped dual-wavelength passively Q-switched Nd:LuLiF4 laser with Bi-doped GaAs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, S. X.; Li, T.; Li, D. C.; Zhao, S. Z.; Li, G. Q.; Hang, Y.; Zhang, P. X.; Li, X. Y.; Qiao, H.

2015-09-01

Diode-pumped CW and passively Q-switched Nd:LuLiF4 lasers with stable, synchronous dual-wavelength operations near 1047 and 1053 nm were demonstrated for the first time. The maximal CW output power of 821 mW was obtained at an incident pump power of 6.52 W. Employing high quality Bi-doped GaAs as saturable absorber, stable dual-wavelength Q-switched operation was realized. Under 6.52 W incident pump power, the minimal pulse duration of 1.5 ns, the largest single pulse energy of 11.32 μJ, and the highest peak power of 7.25 kW were achieved.

Generation of an ultrafast femtosecond soliton fiber laser by carbon nanotube as saturable absorber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salim, M. A. M.; Ahmad, H.; Harun, S. W.; Bidin, N.; Krishnan, G.

2018-05-01

This paper reports the demonstration of ultrafast fiber laser in a simple erbium-doped fiber (EDF) laser that employed a carbon nanotube (CNT) thin film saturable absorber (SA) to generate a stable soliton pulse. The repetition rate of 10.8 MHz pulse consistently achieved has narrowest pulse width of 640 fs and 1555.78 nm central wavelength for an hour operation in room temperature. This proposed setup has the capability for reliable and stable system features.

Reliability improvements in tunable Pb1-xSnxSe diode lasers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Linden, K. J.; Butler, J. F.; Nill, K. W.; Reeder, R. E.

1980-01-01

Recent developments in the technology of Pb-salt diode lasers which have led to significant improvements in reliability and lifetime, and to improved operation at very long wavelengths are described. A combination of packaging and contacting-metallurgy improvements has led to diode lasers that are stable both in terms of temperature cycling and shelf-storage time. Lasers cycled over 500 times between 77 K and 300 K have exhibited no measurable changes in either electrical contact resistance or threshold current. Utilizing metallurgical contacting process, both lasers and experimental n-type and p-type bulk materials are shown to have electrical contact resistance values that are stable for shelf storage periods well in excess of one year. Problems and experiments which have led to devices with improved performance stability are discussed. Stable device configurations achieved for material compositions yielding lasers which operate continuously at wavelengths as long as 30.3 micrometers are described.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NREL and the Hawaiian Electric Companies are collaborating with the solar and inverter industries to implement advanced inverters, allowing greater solar photovoltaic (PV) penetrations that will support the State of Hawaii's goal to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2045. Advanced inverters will help maintain stable grid operations by riding through grid disturbances when the PV output is needed, operating autonomously to smooth voltage fluctuations, and coordinating the start-up and reconnection of PV systems and other distributed energy resources.

Metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells operated in direct-flame configuration

DOE PAGES

Tucker, Michael C.; Ying, Andrew S.

2017-08-19

Metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells (MS-SOFC) with infiltrated catalysts on both anode and cathode side are operated in direct-flame configuration, with a propane flame impinging on the anode. Placing thermal insulation on the cathode dramatically increases cell temperature and performance. The optimum burner-to-cell gap height is a strong function of flame conditions. Cell performance at the optimum gap is determined within the region of stable non-coking conditions, with equivalence ratio from 1 to 1.9 and flow velocity from 100 to 300 cm s -1. In this region, performance is most strongly correlated to flow velocity and open circuit voltage. Themore » highest peak power density achieved is 633 mW cm -2 at 833°C, for equivalence ratio of 1.8 and flow velocity of 300 cm s -1. The cell starts to produce power within 10 s of being placed in the flame, and displays stable performance over 10 extremely rapid thermal cycles. The cell provides stable performance for >20 h of semi-continuous operation.« less

Coupled opto-electronic oscillator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yao, X. Steve (Inventor); Maleki, Lute (Inventor)

1999-01-01

A coupled opto-electronic oscillator that directly couples a laser oscillation with an electronic oscillation to simultaneously achieve a stable RF oscillation at a high frequency and ultra-short optical pulsation by mode locking with a high repetition rate and stability. Single-mode selection can be achieved even with a very long opto-electronic loop. A multimode laser can be used to pump the electronic oscillation, resulting in a high operation efficiency. The optical and the RF oscillations are correlated to each other.

Entropy stable discontinuous interfaces coupling for the three-dimensional compressible Navier-Stokes equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parsani, Matteo; Carpenter, Mark H.; Nielsen, Eric J.

2015-06-01

Non-linear entropy stability and a summation-by-parts (SBP) framework are used to derive entropy stable interior interface coupling for the semi-discretized three-dimensional (3D) compressible Navier-Stokes equations. A complete semi-discrete entropy estimate for the interior domain is achieved combining a discontinuous entropy conservative operator of any order [1,2] with an entropy stable coupling condition for the inviscid terms, and a local discontinuous Galerkin (LDG) approach with an interior penalty (IP) procedure for the viscous terms. The viscous penalty contributions scale with the inverse of the Reynolds number (Re) so that for Re → ∞ their contributions vanish and only the entropy stable inviscid interface penalty term is recovered. This paper extends the interface couplings presented [1,2] and provides a simple and automatic way to compute the magnitude of the viscous IP term. The approach presented herein is compatible with any diagonal norm summation-by-parts (SBP) spatial operator, including finite element, finite volume, finite difference schemes and the class of high-order accurate methods which include the large family of discontinuous Galerkin discretizations and flux reconstruction schemes.

Tunable multiwavelength SOA fiber laser with ultra-narrow wavelength spacing based on nonlinear polarization rotation.

PubMed

Zhang, Zuxing; Wu, Jian; Xu, Kun; Hong, Xiaobin; Lin, Jintong

2009-09-14

A tunable multiwavelength fiber laser with ultra-narrow wavelength spacing and large wavelength number using a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) has been demonstrated. Intensity-dependent transmission induced by nonlinear polarization rotation in the SOA accounts for stable multiwavelength operation with wavelength spacing less than the homogenous broadening linewidth of the SOA. Stable multiwavelength lasing with wavelength spacing as small as 0.08 nm and wavelength number up to 126 is achieved at room temperature. Moreover, wavelength tuning of 20.2 nm is implemented via polarization tuning.

Multiwavelength erbium-doped fiber laser employing a nonlinear optical loop mirror

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Xinhuan; Tam, Hwa-yaw; Liu, Heliang; Wai, P. K. A.

2006-12-01

A stable and broad bandwidth multiwavelength erbium-doped fiber laser is proposed and demonstrated successfully. A nonlinear optical loop mirror which induces wavelength-dependent cavity loss and behaves as an amplitude equalizer is employed to ensure stable room-temperature multiwavelength operation. Up to 50 wavelengths lasing oscillations with wavelength spacing of 0.8 nm within a 3-dB spectral range of 1562-1605 nm has been achieved. The measured power fluctuation of each wavelength is about 0.1 dB within a 2-h period.

[Improved methods for monitoring sleep state and respiratory rhythm in freely moving rats].

PubMed

Wang, Qi-Min; Dong, Hui; Zhang, Cheng; Zhang, Yong-He; Ma, Jing; Wang, Guang-Fa

2014-01-01

To improve the method for monitoring sleep state and respiratory rhythm of SD rats, providing a solution for rats' chewing on the wires, signal loss and instability problems in the animal model of sleep apnea syndrome (SAS). We improved monitoring electrodes of both electrocorticogram (ECoG) and electromyogram (EMG), signal circuit and animal operation. Operation time was shortened and wound exposure time was reduced, which made it easier for postoperative recovery. The ECoG and EMG signals were more stable with sharp image, and signal circuit lines had better conductivity and material durability, achieving continuous monitoring for a long time and high success rate. We could precisely distinguish the sleep wake state and the sleep apnea events in rats according to these signals. The improved method is more reliable and practical to test the small animal model of SAS, and is more easily to operate and the signals are more stable.

Nitrate removal from high strength nitrate-bearing wastes in granular sludge sequencing batch reactors.

PubMed

Krishna Mohan, Tulasi Venkata; Renu, Kadali; Nancharaiah, Yarlagadda Venkata; Satya Sai, Pedapati Murali; Venugopalan, Vayalam Purath

2016-02-01

A 6-L sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was operated for development of granular sludge capable of denitrification of high strength nitrates. Complete and stable denitrification of up to 5420 mg L(-1) nitrate-N (2710 mg L(-1) nitrate-N in reactor) was achieved by feeding simulated nitrate waste at a C/N ratio of 3. Compact and dense denitrifying granular sludge with relatively stable microbial community was developed during reactor operation. Accumulation of large amounts of nitrite due to incomplete denitrification occurred when the SBR was fed with 5420 mg L(-1) NO3-N at a C/N ratio of 2. Complete denitrification could not be achieved at this C/N ratio, even after one week of reactor operation as the nitrite levels continued to accumulate. In order to improve denitrification performance, the reactor was fed with nitrate concentrations of 1354 mg L(-1), while keeping C/N ratio at 2. Subsequently, nitrate concentration in the feed was increased in a step-wise manner to establish complete denitrification of 5420 mg L(-1) NO3-N at a C/N ratio of 2. The results show that substrate concentration plays an important role in denitrification of high strength nitrate by influencing nitrite accumulation. Complete denitrification of high strength nitrates can be achieved at lower substrate concentrations, by an appropriate acclimatization strategy. Copyright © 2015 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

21 THz quantum-cascade laser operating up to 144 K based on a scattering-assisted injection design

DOE PAGES

Khanal, Sudeep; Reno, John L.; Kumar, Sushil

2015-07-22

A 2.1 THz quantum cascade laser (QCL) based on a scattering-assisted injection and resonant-phonon depopulation design scheme is demonstrated. The QCL is based on a four-well period implemented in the GaAs/Al 0.15Ga 0.85As material system. The QCL operates up to a heat-sink temperature of 144 K in pulsed-mode, which is considerably higher than that achieved for previously reported THz QCLs operating around the frequency of 2 THz. At 46 K, the threshold current-density was measured as ~745 A/cm 2 with a peak-power output of ~10 mW. Electrically stable operation in a positive differential-resistance regime is achieved by a careful choicemore » of design parameters. The results validate the robustness of scattering-assisted injection schemes for development of low-frequency (ν < 2.5 THz) QCLs.« less

2.1 THz quantum-cascade laser operating up to 144 K based on a scattering-assisted injection design.

PubMed

Khanal, Sudeep; Reno, John L; Kumar, Sushil

2015-07-27

A 2.1 THz quantum cascade laser (QCL) based on a scattering-assisted injection and resonant-phonon depopulation design scheme is demonstrated. The QCL is based on a four-well period implemented in the GaAs/Al0.15Ga0.85As material system. The QCL operates up to a heat-sink temperature of 144 K in pulsed-mode, which is considerably higher than that achieved for previously reported THz QCLs operating around the frequency of 2 THz. At 46 K, the threshold current-density was measured as ∼ 745 A/cm2 with a peak-power output of ∼10 mW. Electrically stable operation in a positive differential-resistance regime is achieved by a careful choice of design parameters. The results validate the robustness of scattering-assisted injection schemes for development of low-frequency (ν < 2.5 THz) QCLs.

Dual-pulses and harmonic patterns of a square-wave soliton in passively mode-locked fiber laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Wanzhuo; Wang, Tianshu; Su, Qingchao; Zhang, Jing; Jia, Qingsong; Jiang, Huilin

2018-06-01

We demonstrate a square-wave soliton pulse passively mode-locked fiber laser. The mode-locked pulses are achieved by using a nonlinear amplifying loop mirror. Single-pulse operation at a fundamental repetition rate of 3.2 MHz is obtained. The optical spectrum presents the soliton feature of several sidebands. The pulse duration expands with increasing pump power, but the amplitude hardly varies. Pulse breaking occurs and a stable dual-pulse is obtained with a fixed interval of 48 ns. Harmonic mode-locked states can be achieved when the total pump power is higher than 740 mW. The harmonic pulses can also operate in both single-pulse and dual-pulse states.

Stable room-temperature LiF:F2+* tunable color-center laser for the 830-1060-nm spectral range pumped by second-harmonic radiation from a neodymium laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ter-Mikirtychev, V. V.

1995-09-01

Simultaneous photostability and thermostability of a room-temperature LiF:F2+ * tunable color-center laser, with an operating range over 830-1060 nm, pumped by second-harmonic radiation of a YAG:Nd3+ laser with a 532-nm wavelength has been achieved. The main lasing characteristics of the obtained LiF:F2+* laser have been measured. Twenty-five percent real efficiency in a nonselective resonator cavity and 15% real efficiency in a selective resonator cavity have been obtained. The stable LiF:F2 +* laser operates at a 1-100-Hz pulse-repetition rate with a 15-ns pulse duration, a 1-1.5-cm-1 narrow-band oscillation bandwidth, and divergency of better than 6 \\times 10-4. Doubling the fundamental frequencies of F2+ * oscillation made it possible to obtain stable blue-green tunable radiation over the 415-530-nm range.

Prospects for Ultra-Stable Timekeeping with Sealed Vacuum Operation in Multi-Pole Linear Ion Trap Standards

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burt, Eric A.; Tjoelker, R. L.

2007-01-01

A recent long-term comparison between the compensated multi-pole Linear Ion Trap Standard (LITS) and the laser-cooled primary standards via GPS carrier phase time transfer showed a deviation of less than 2.7x10(exp -17)/day. A subsequent evaluation of potential drift contributors in the LITS showed that the leading candidates are fluctuations in background gases and the neon buffer gas. The current vacuum system employs a "flow-through" turbomolecular pump and a diaphragm fore pump. Here we consider the viability of a "sealed" vacuum system pumped by a non-evaporable getter for long-term ultra-stable clock operation. Initial tests suggests that both further stability improvement and longer mean-time-between-maintenance can be achieved using this approach

Processing and Characterization of Thousand-Hour 500 C Durable 4H-SiC JFET Integrated Circuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spry, David J.; Neudeck, Philip G.; Chen, Liangyu; Lukco, Dorothy; Chang, Carl W.; Beheim, Glenn M.; Krasowski, Michael J.; Prokop, Norman F.

2016-01-01

This work reports fabrication and testing of integrated circuits (ICs) with two levels of interconnect that consistently achieve greater than 1000 hours of stable electrical operation at 500 C in air ambient. These ICs are based on 4H-SiC junction field effect transistor (JFET) technology that integrates hafnium ohmic contacts with TaSi2 interconnects and SiO2 and Si3N4 dielectric layers over 1-m scale vertical topology. Following initial burn-in, important circuit parameters remain stable for more than 1000 hours of 500 C operational testing. These results advance the technology foundation for realizing long-term durable 500 C ICs with increased functional capability for sensing and control combustion engine, planetary, deep-well drilling, and other harsh-environment applications.

Processing and Characterization of Thousand-Hour 500 C Durable 4H-SiC JFET Integrated Circuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spry, David J.; Neudeck, Philip G.; Chen, Liang-Yu; Lukco, Dorothy; Chang, Carl W.; Beheim, Glenn M.; Krasowski, Michael J.; Prokop, Norman F.

2016-01-01

This work reports fabrication and testing of integrated circuits (ICs) with two levels of interconnect that consistently achieve greater than 1000 hours of stable electrical operation at 500 C in air ambient. These ICs are based on 4H-SiC junction field effect transistor (JFET) technology that integrates hafnium ohmic contacts with TaSi2 interconnects and SiO2 and Si3N4 dielectric layers over approximately 1-micrometer scale vertical topology. Following initial burn-in, important circuit parameters remain stable for more than 1000 hours of 500 C operational testing. These results advance the technology foundation for realizing long-term durable 500 C ICs with increased functional capability for sensing and control combustion engine, planetary, deep-well drilling, and other harsh-environment applications.

Highly air stable passivation of graphene based field effect devices.

PubMed

Sagade, Abhay A; Neumaier, Daniel; Schall, Daniel; Otto, Martin; Pesquera, Amaia; Centeno, Alba; Elorza, Amaia Zurutuza; Kurz, Heinrich

2015-02-28

The sensitivity of graphene based devices to surface adsorbates and charge traps at the graphene/dielectric interface requires proper device passivation in order to operate them reproducibly under ambient conditions. Here we report on the use of atomic layer deposited aluminum oxide as passivation layer on graphene field effect devices (GFETs). We show that successful passivation produce hysteresis free DC characteristics, low doping level GFETs stable over weeks though operated and stored in ambient atmosphere. This is achieved by selecting proper seed layer prior to deposition of encapsulation layer. The passivated devices are also demonstrated to be robust towards the exposure to chemicals and heat treatments, typically used during device fabrication. Additionally, the passivation of high stability and reproducible characteristics is also shown for functional devices like integrated graphene based inverters.

Stable synthesis of few-layered boron nitride nanotubes by anodic arc discharge.

PubMed

Yeh, Yao-Wen; Raitses, Yevgeny; Koel, Bruce E; Yao, Nan

2017-06-08

Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) were successfully synthesized by a dc arc discharge using a boron-rich anode as synthesis feedstock in a nitrogen gas environment at near atmospheric pressure. The synthesis was achieved independent of the cathode material suggesting that under such conditions the arc operates in so-called anodic mode with the anode material being consumed by evaporation due to the arc heating. To sustain the arc current by thermionic electron emission, the cathode has to be at sufficiently high temperature, which for a typical arc current density of ~100 A/cm 2 , is above the boron melting point (2350 K). With both electrodes made from the same boron-rich alloy, we found that the arc operation unstable due to frequent sticking between two molten electrodes and formation of molten droplets. Stable and reliable arc operation and arc synthesis were achieved with the boron-rich anode and the cathode made from a refractory metal which has a melting temperature above the melting point of boron. Ex-situ characterization of synthesized BNNTs with electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy revealed that independent of the cathode material, the tubes are primarily single and double walled. The results also show evidence of root-growth of BNNTs produced in the arc discharge.

Stable synthesis of few-layered boron nitride nanotubes by anodic arc discharge

DOE PAGES

Yeh, Yao-Wen; Raitses, Yevgeny; Koel, Bruce E.; ...

2017-06-08

Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) were successfully synthesized by a dc arc discharge using a boron-rich anode as synthesis feedstock in a nitrogen gas environment at near atmospheric pressure. The synthesis was achieved independent of the cathode material suggesting that under such conditions the arc operates in so-called anodic mode with the anode material being consumed by evaporation due to the arc heating. In order to sustain the arc current by thermionic electron emission, the cathode has to be at sufficiently high temperature, which for a typical arc current density of similar to 100 A/cm 2, is above the boron meltingmore » point (2350 K). With both electrodes made from the same boron-rich alloy, we found that the arc operation unstable due to frequent sticking between two molten electrodes and formation of molten droplets. We achieved a stable and reliable arc operation and arc synthesis with the boronrich anode and the cathode made from a refractory metal which has a melting temperature above the melting point of boron. Ex-situ characterization of synthesized BNNTs with electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy revealed that independent of the cathode material, the tubes are primarily single and double walled. Our results also show evidence of root-growth of BNNTs produced in the arc discharge.« less

Stable synthesis of few-layered boron nitride nanotubes by anodic arc discharge

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yeh, Yao-Wen; Raitses, Yevgeny; Koel, Bruce E.

Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) were successfully synthesized by a dc arc discharge using a boron-rich anode as synthesis feedstock in a nitrogen gas environment at near atmospheric pressure. The synthesis was achieved independent of the cathode material suggesting that under such conditions the arc operates in so-called anodic mode with the anode material being consumed by evaporation due to the arc heating. In order to sustain the arc current by thermionic electron emission, the cathode has to be at sufficiently high temperature, which for a typical arc current density of similar to 100 A/cm 2, is above the boron meltingmore » point (2350 K). With both electrodes made from the same boron-rich alloy, we found that the arc operation unstable due to frequent sticking between two molten electrodes and formation of molten droplets. We achieved a stable and reliable arc operation and arc synthesis with the boronrich anode and the cathode made from a refractory metal which has a melting temperature above the melting point of boron. Ex-situ characterization of synthesized BNNTs with electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy revealed that independent of the cathode material, the tubes are primarily single and double walled. Our results also show evidence of root-growth of BNNTs produced in the arc discharge.« less

Process optimization of helium cryo plant operation for SST-1 superconducting magnet system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panchal, P.; Panchal, R.; Patel, R.; Mahesuriya, G.; Sonara, D.; Srikanth G, L. N.; Garg, A.; Christian, D.; Bairagi, N.; Sharma, R.; Patel, K.; Shah, P.; Nimavat, H.; Purwar, G.; Patel, J.; Tanna, V.; Pradhan, S.

2017-02-01

Several plasma discharge campaigns have been carried out in steady state superconducting tokamak (SST-1). SST-1 has toroidal field (TF) and poloidal field (PF) superconducting magnet system (SCMS). The TF coils system is cooled to 4.5 - 4.8 K at 1.5 - 1.7 bar(a) under two phase flow condition using 1.3 kW helium cryo plant. Experience revealed that the PF coils demand higher pressure heads even at lower temperatures in comparison to TF coils because of its longer hydraulic path lengths. Thermal run away are observed within PF coils because of single common control valve for all PF coils in distribution system having non-uniform lengths. Thus it is routine practice to stop the cooling of PF path and continue only TF cooling at SCMS inlet temperature of ˜ 14 K. In order to achieve uniform cool down, different control logic is adopted to make cryo stable system. In adopted control logic, the SCMS are cooled down to 80 K at constant inlet pressure of 9 bar(a). After authorization of turbine A/B, the SCMS inlet pressure is gradually controlled by refrigeration J-T valve to achieve stable operation window for cryo system. This paper presents process optimization for cryo plant operation for SST-1 SCMS.

Toward experimental validation of a model for human sensorimotor learning and control in teleoperation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roth, Eatai; Howell, Darrin; Beckwith, Cydney; Burden, Samuel A.

2017-05-01

Humans, interacting with cyber-physical systems (CPS), formulate beliefs about the system's dynamics. It is natural to expect that human operators, tasked with teleoperation, use these beliefs to control the remote robot. For tracking tasks in the resulting human-cyber-physical system (HCPS), theory suggests that human operators can achieve exponential tracking (in stable systems) without state estimation provided they possess an accurate model of the system's dynamics. This internalized inverse model, however, renders a portion of the system state unobservable to the human operator—the zero dynamics. Prior work shows humans can track through observable linear dynamics, thus we focus on nonlinear dynamics rendered unobservable through tracking control. We propose experiments to assess the human operator's ability to learn and invert such models, and distinguish this behavior from that achieved by pure feedback control.

Highly stable cesium lead iodide perovskite quantum dot light-emitting diodes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zou, Chen; Huang, Chun-Ying; Sanehira, Erin M.

Recently, all-inorganic perovskites such as CsPbBr3 and CsPbI3, have emerged as promising materials for light-emitting applications. While encouraging performance has been demonstrated, the stability issue of the red-emitting CsPbI3 is still a major concern due to its small tolerance factor. Here we report a highly stable CsPbI3 quantum dot LED with red emission fabricated using an improved purification approach. The device achieved decent external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 0.21 % at a bias of 6 V and outstanding operational stability, with a L70 lifetime (EL intensity decreases to 70% of starting value) of 16 h and 1.5 h under amore » constant driving voltage of 5 V and 6 V (maximum EQE operation) respectively. Furthermore, the device can work under a higher voltage of 7 V (maximum luminance operation) and retain 50% of its initial EL intensity after 500 s. These findings demonstrate the promise of CsPbI3 quantum dots for stable red LEDs, and suggest the feasibility for electrically pumped perovskite lasers with further device optimizations.« less

Highly stable cesium lead iodide perovskite quantum dot light-emitting diodes

DOE PAGES

Zou, Chen; Huang, Chun-Ying; Sanehira, Erin M.; ...

2017-09-11

Recently, all-inorganic perovskites such as CsPbBr3 and CsPbI3, have emerged as promising materials for light-emitting applications. While encouraging performance has been demonstrated, the stability issue of the red-emitting CsPbI3 is still a major concern due to its small tolerance factor. Here we report a highly stable CsPbI3 quantum dot LED with red emission fabricated using an improved purification approach. The device achieved decent external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 0.21 % at a bias of 6 V and outstanding operational stability, with a L70 lifetime (EL intensity decreases to 70% of starting value) of 16 h and 1.5 h under amore » constant driving voltage of 5 V and 6 V (maximum EQE operation) respectively. Furthermore, the device can work under a higher voltage of 7 V (maximum luminance operation) and retain 50% of its initial EL intensity after 500 s. These findings demonstrate the promise of CsPbI3 quantum dots for stable red LEDs, and suggest the feasibility for electrically pumped perovskite lasers with further device optimizations.« less

Environmentally stable all-PM all-fiber giant chirp oscillator.

PubMed

Erkintalo, Miro; Aguergaray, Claude; Runge, Antoine; Broderick, Neil G R

2012-09-24

We report on an environmentally stable giant chirp oscillator operating at 1030 nm. Thanks to the use of a nonlinear amplifying loop mirror as the mode-locker, we are able to extract pulse energies in excess of 10 nJ from a robust all-PM cavity with no free-space elements. Extensive numerical simulations reveal that the output oscillator energy and duration can simply be up-scaled through the lengthening of the cavity with suitably positioned single-mode fiber. Experimentally, using different cavity lengths we have achieved environmentally stable mode-locking at 10, 3.7 and 1.7 MHz with corresponding pulse energies of 2.3, 10 and 16 nJ. In all cases external grating-pair compression below 400 fs has been demonstrated.

A Power Regulation and Droop Mode Control Method for a Stand-Alone Load Fed from a PV-Current Source Inverter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khayamy, Mehdy; Ojo, Olorunfemi

2015-04-01

A current source inverter fed from photovoltaic cells is proposed to power an autonomous load when operating under either power regulation or voltage and frequency drooping modes. Input-output linearization technique is applied to the overall nonlinear system to achieve a globally stable system under feasible operating conditions. After obtaining the steady-state model that demarcates the modes of operation, computer Simulation results for variations in irradiance and the load power of the controlled system are generated in which an acceptable dynamic response of the power generator system under the two modes of operation is observed.

Radio frequency phototube and optical clock: High resolution, high rate and highly stable single photon timing technique

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Margaryan, Amur

2011-10-01

A new timing technique for single photons based on the radio frequency phototube and optical clock or femtosecond optical frequency comb generator is proposed. The technique has a 20 ps resolution for single photons, is capable of operating with MHz frequencies and achieving 10 fs instability level.

Continuous high-solids anaerobic co-digestion of organic solid wastes under mesophilic conditions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Dong-Hoon; Oh, Sae-Eun, E-mail: saeun@hanbat.ac.kr

2011-09-15

Highlights: > High-solids (dry) anaerobic digestion is attracting a lot of attention these days. > One reactor was fed with food waste (FW) and paper waste. > Maximum biogas production rate of 5.0 m{sup 3}/m{sup 3}/d was achieved at HRT 40 d and 40% TS. > The other reactor was fed with FW and livestock waste (LW). > Until a 40% LW content increase, the reactor exhibited a stable performance. - Abstract: With increasing concerns over the limited capacity of landfills, conservation of resources, and reduction of CO{sub 2} emissions, high-solids (dry) anaerobic digestion of organic solid waste (OSW) ismore » attracting a great deal of attention these days. In the present work, two dry anaerobic co-digestion systems fed with different mixtures of OSW were continuously operated under mesophilic conditions. Dewatered sludge cake was used as a main seeding source. In reactor (I), which was fed with food waste (FW) and paper waste (PW), hydraulic retention time (HRT) and solid content were controlled to find the maximum treatability. At a fixed solid content of 30% total solids (TS), stable performance was maintained up to an HRT decrease to 40 d. However, the stable performance was not sustained at 30 d HRT, and hence, HRT was increased to 40 d again. In further operation, instead of decreasing HRT, solid content was increased to 40% TS, which was found to be a better option to increase the treatability. The biogas production rate (BPR), CH{sub 4} production yield (MPY) and VS reduction achieved in this condition were 5.0 m{sup 3}/m{sup 3}/d, 0.25 m{sup 3} CH{sub 4}/g COD{sub added}, and 80%, respectively. Reactor (II) was fed with FW and livestock waste (LW), and LW content was increased during the operation. Until a 40% LW content increase, reactor (II) exhibited a stable performance. A BPR of 1.7 m{sup 3}/m{sup 3}/d, MPY of 0.26 m{sup 3} CH{sub 4}/g COD{sub added}, and VS reduction of 72% was achieved at 40% LW content. However, when the LW content was increased to 60%, there was a significant performance drop, which was attributed to free ammonia inhibition. The performances in these two reactors were comparable to the ones achieved in the conventional wet digestion and thermophilic dry digestion processes.« less

100-mW high-power three-section tunable distributed Bragg reflector laser diodes with a real refractive-index-guided self-aligned structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takayama, Toru; Mochida, Atsunori; Orita, Kenji; Tamura, Satoshi; Ohnishi, Toshikazu; Yuri, Masaaki; Shimizu, Hirokazu

2002-05-01

High-power (>100mW) 820 nm-band distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) laser diodes (LDs) with stable fundamental transverse mode operation and continuous wavelength tuning characteristics have been developed. To obtain high-power LDs with a stable fundamental transverse mode in 820 nm wavelength range, an AlGaAs narrow stripe (2.0 micrometers ) real refractive-index-guided self-aligned (RISA) structure is utilized. In the RISA structure, the index step between inside and outside the stripe region ((Delta) n) can be precisely controlled in the order of 10-3). To maintain a stable fundamental transverse mode up to an output power over 100 mW, (Delta) n is designed to be 4x10-3. Higher-order transverse modes are effectively suppressed by a narrow stripe geometry. Further, to achieve continuous wavelength tuning capability, the three-section LD structure, which consists of the active (700micrometers ), phase control (300micrometers ), and DBR(500micrometers ) sections, is incorporated. Our DBR LDs show a maximum output power over 200mW with a stable fundamental transverse mode, and wavelength tuning characteristics ((Delta) (lambda) ~2nm) under 100 mW CW operation.

Overview of ten-year operation of the superconducting linear accelerator at the Spallation Neutron Source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, S.-H.; Afanador, R.; Barnhart, D. L.; Crofford, M.; Degraff, B. D.; Doleans, M.; Galambos, J.; Gold, S. W.; Howell, M. P.; Mammosser, J.; McMahan, C. J.; Neustadt, T. S.; Peters, C.; Saunders, J. W.; Strong, W. H.; Vandygriff, D. J.; Vandygriff, D. M.

2017-04-01

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) has acquired extensive operational experience of a pulsed proton superconducting linear accelerator (SCL) as a user facility. Numerous lessons have been learned in its first 10 years operation to achieve a stable and reliable operation of the SCL. In this paper, an overview of the SNS SCL design, qualification of superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities and ancillary subsystems, an overview of the SNS cryogenic system, the SCL operation including SCL output energy history and downtime statistics, performance stability of the SRF cavities, efforts for SRF cavity performance recovery and improvement at the SNS, and maintenance activities for cryomodules are introduced.

Overview of ten-year operation of the superconducting linear accelerator at the Spallation Neutron Source

DOE PAGES

Kim, Sang-Ho; Afanador, Ralph; Barnhart, Debra L.; ...

2017-02-04

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) has acquired extensive operational experience of a pulsed proton superconducting linear accelerator (SCL) as a user facility. Numerous lessons have been learned in its first 10 years operation to achieve a stable and reliable operation of the SCL. In this paper, an overview of the SNS SCL design, qualification of superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities and ancillary subsystems, an overview of the SNS cryogenic system, the SCL operation including SCL output energy history and downtime statistics, performance stability of the SRF cavities, efforts for SRF cavity performance recovery and improvement at the SNS, and maintenancemore » activities for cryomodules are introduced.« less

Overview of ten-year operation of the superconducting linear accelerator at the Spallation Neutron Source

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Sang-Ho; Afanador, Ralph; Barnhart, Debra L.

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) has acquired extensive operational experience of a pulsed proton superconducting linear accelerator (SCL) as a user facility. Numerous lessons have been learned in its first 10 years operation to achieve a stable and reliable operation of the SCL. In this paper, an overview of the SNS SCL design, qualification of superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities and ancillary subsystems, an overview of the SNS cryogenic system, the SCL operation including SCL output energy history and downtime statistics, performance stability of the SRF cavities, efforts for SRF cavity performance recovery and improvement at the SNS, and maintenancemore » activities for cryomodules are introduced.« less

Quadrature demultiplexing using a degenerate vector parametric amplifier.

PubMed

Lorences-Riesgo, Abel; Liu, Lan; Olsson, Samuel L I; Malik, Rohit; Kumpera, Aleš; Lundström, Carl; Radic, Stojan; Karlsson, Magnus; Andrekson, Peter A

2014-12-01

We report on quadrature demultiplexing of a quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) signal into two cross-polarized binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) signals with negligible penalty at bit-error rate (BER) equal to 10(-9). The all-optical quadrature demultiplexing is achieved using a degenerate vector parametric amplifier operating in phase-insensitive mode. We also propose and demonstrate the use of a novel and simple phase-locked loop (PLL) scheme based on detecting the envelope of one of the signals after demultiplexing in order to achieve stable quadrature decomposition.

p-Type Transparent Conducting Oxide/n-Type Semiconductor Heterojunctions for Efficient and Stable Solar Water Oxidation.

PubMed

Chen, Le; Yang, Jinhui; Klaus, Shannon; Lee, Lyman J; Woods-Robinson, Rachel; Ma, Jie; Lum, Yanwei; Cooper, Jason K; Toma, Francesca M; Wang, Lin-Wang; Sharp, Ian D; Bell, Alexis T; Ager, Joel W

2015-08-05

Achieving stable operation of photoanodes used as components of solar water splitting devices is critical to realizing the promise of this renewable energy technology. It is shown that p-type transparent conducting oxides (p-TCOs) can function both as a selective hole contact and corrosion protection layer for photoanodes used in light-driven water oxidation. Using NiCo2O4 as the p-TCO and n-type Si as a prototypical light absorber, a rectifying heterojunction capable of light driven water oxidation was created. By placing the charge separating junction in the Si using a np(+) structure and by incorporating a highly active heterogeneous Ni-Fe oxygen evolution catalyst, efficient light-driven water oxidation can be achieved. In this structure, oxygen evolution under AM1.5G illumination occurs at 0.95 V vs RHE, and the current density at the reversible potential for water oxidation (1.23 V vs RHE) is >25 mA cm(-2). Stable operation was confirmed by observing a constant current density over 72 h and by sensitive measurements of corrosion products in the electrolyte. In situ Raman spectroscopy was employed to investigate structural transformation of NiCo2O4 during electrochemical oxidation. The interface between the light absorber and p-TCO is crucial to produce selective hole conduction to the surface under illumination. For example, annealing to produce more crystalline NiCo2O4 produces only small changes in its hole conductivity, while a thicker SiOx layer is formed at the n-Si/p-NiCo2O4 interface, greatly reducing the PEC performance. The generality of the p-TCO protection approach is demonstrated by multihour, stable, water oxidation with n-InP/p-NiCo2O4 heterojunction photoanodes.

Development of optical packet and circuit integrated ring network testbed.

PubMed

Furukawa, Hideaki; Harai, Hiroaki; Miyazawa, Takaya; Shinada, Satoshi; Kawasaki, Wataru; Wada, Naoya

2011-12-12

We developed novel integrated optical packet and circuit switch-node equipment. Compared with our previous equipment, a polarization-independent 4 × 4 semiconductor optical amplifier switch subsystem, gain-controlled optical amplifiers, and one 100 Gbps optical packet transponder and seven 10 Gbps optical path transponders with 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) client-interfaces were newly installed in the present system. The switch and amplifiers can provide more stable operation without equipment adjustments for the frequent polarization-rotations and dynamic packet-rate changes of optical packets. We constructed an optical packet and circuit integrated ring network testbed consisting of two switch nodes for accelerating network development, and we demonstrated 66 km fiber transmission and switching operation of multiplexed 14-wavelength 10 Gbps optical paths and 100 Gbps optical packets encapsulating 10GbE frames. Error-free (frame error rate < 1×10(-4)) operation was achieved with optical packets of various packet lengths and packet rates, and stable operation of the network testbed was confirmed. In addition, 4K uncompressed video streaming over OPS links was successfully demonstrated. © 2011 Optical Society of America

Advances in high gradient normal conducting accelerator structures

DOE PAGES

Simakov, Evgenya Ivanovna; Dolgashev, Valery A.; Tantawi, Sami G.

2018-03-09

Here, this paper reviews the current state-of-the-art in understanding the phenomena of ultra-high vacuum radio-frequency (rf) breakdown in accelerating structures and the efforts to improve stable operation of the structures at accelerating gradients above 100 MV/m. Numerous studies have been conducted recently with the goal of understanding the dependence of the achievable accelerating gradients and breakdown rates on the frequency of operations, the geometry of the structure, material and method of fabrication, and operational temperature. Tests have been conducted with single standing wave accelerator cells as well as with the multi-cell traveling wave structures. Notable theoretical effort was directed atmore » understanding the physical mechanisms of the rf breakdown and its statistical behavior. Finally, the achievements presented in this paper are the result of the large continuous self-sustaining collaboration of multiple research institutions in the United States and worldwide.« less

Advances in high gradient normal conducting accelerator structures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Simakov, Evgenya Ivanovna; Dolgashev, Valery A.; Tantawi, Sami G.

Here, this paper reviews the current state-of-the-art in understanding the phenomena of ultra-high vacuum radio-frequency (rf) breakdown in accelerating structures and the efforts to improve stable operation of the structures at accelerating gradients above 100 MV/m. Numerous studies have been conducted recently with the goal of understanding the dependence of the achievable accelerating gradients and breakdown rates on the frequency of operations, the geometry of the structure, material and method of fabrication, and operational temperature. Tests have been conducted with single standing wave accelerator cells as well as with the multi-cell traveling wave structures. Notable theoretical effort was directed atmore » understanding the physical mechanisms of the rf breakdown and its statistical behavior. Finally, the achievements presented in this paper are the result of the large continuous self-sustaining collaboration of multiple research institutions in the United States and worldwide.« less

Tunable multi-wavelength SOA based linear cavity dual-output port fiber laser using Lyot-Sagnac loop mirror.

PubMed

Ummy, M A; Madamopoulos, N; Joyo, A; Kouar, M; Dorsinville, R

2011-02-14

We propose and demonstrate a simple dual port tunable from the C- to the L-band multi-wavelength fiber laser based on a SOA designed for C-band operation and fiber loop mirrors. The laser incorporates a polarization maintaining fiber in one of the fiber loop mirrors and delivers multi-wavelength operation at 9 laser lines with a wavelength separation of ~2.8 nm at room temperature. We show that the number of lasing wavelengths increases with the increase of the bias current of the SOA. Wavelength tunability from the C to L-band is achieved by exploiting the gain compression of a SOA. Stable multi-wavelength operation is achieved at room temperature without temperature compensation techniques, with measured power and the wavelength stability within < ±0.5 dB and 
±0.1 nm, respectively.

Boundary Closures for Fourth-order Energy Stable Weighted Essentially Non-Oscillatory Finite Difference Schemes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fisher, Travis C.; Carpenter, Mark H.; Yamaleev, Nail K.; Frankel, Steven H.

2009-01-01

A general strategy exists for constructing Energy Stable Weighted Essentially Non Oscillatory (ESWENO) finite difference schemes up to eighth-order on periodic domains. These ESWENO schemes satisfy an energy norm stability proof for both continuous and discontinuous solutions of systems of linear hyperbolic equations. Herein, boundary closures are developed for the fourth-order ESWENO scheme that maintain wherever possible the WENO stencil biasing properties, while satisfying the summation-by-parts (SBP) operator convention, thereby ensuring stability in an L2 norm. Second-order, and third-order boundary closures are developed that achieve stability in diagonal and block norms, respectively. The global accuracy for the second-order closures is three, and for the third-order closures is four. A novel set of non-uniform flux interpolation points is necessary near the boundaries to simultaneously achieve 1) accuracy, 2) the SBP convention, and 3) WENO stencil biasing mechanics.

SPDE/SPRE final summary report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dochat, George

1993-01-01

Mechanical Technology Incorporated (MTI) performed acceptance testing on the Space Power Research Engine (SPRE), which demonstrated satisfactory operation and sufficient reliability for delivery to NASA Lewis Research Center. The unit produced 13.5 kW PV power with an efficiency of 22 percent versus design goals of 28.8 kW PV power and efficiency of 28 percent. Maximum electric power was only 8 kWe due to lower alternator efficiency. One of the major shortcomings of the SPRE was linear alternator efficiency, which was only 70 percent compared to a design value of 90 percent. It was determined from static tests that the major cause for the efficiency shortfall was the location of the magnetic structure surrounding the linear alternator. Testing of an alternator configuration without a surrounding magnetic structure on a linear dynamometer confirmed earlier static test results. Linear alternator efficiency improved from 70 percent to over 90 percent. Testing of the MTI SPRE was also performed with hydrodynamic bearings and achieved full-stroke, stable operation. This testing indicated that hydrodynamic bearings may be useful in free piston Stirling engines. An important factor in achieving stable operation at design stroke was isolating a portion of the bearing length from the engine pressure variations. In addition, the heat pipe heater head design indicates that integration of a Stirling engine with a heat source can be performed via heat pipes. This design provides a baseline against which alternative designs can be measured.

Technology update: Tethered aerostat structural design and material developments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Witherow, R. G.

1975-01-01

Requirements exist for an extremely stable, high performance, all-weather tethered aerostat system. This requirement has been satisfied by a 250,000 cubic foot captive buoyant vehicle as demonstrated by over a year of successful field operations. This achievement required significant advancements in several technology areas including composite materials design, aerostatics and aerodynamics, structural design, electro-mechanical design, vehicle fabrication and mooring operations. This paper specifically addresses the materials and structural design aspects of pressurized buoyant vehicles as related to the general class of Lighter Than Air vehicles.

Using rewards and penalties to obtain desired subject performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cook, M.; Jex, H. R.; Stein, A. C.; Allen, R. W.

1981-01-01

Operant conditioning procedures, specifically the use of negative reinforcement, in achieving stable learning behavior is described. The critical tracking test (CTT) a method of detecting human operator impairment was tested. A pass level is set for each subject, based on that subject's asymptotic skill level while sober. It is critical that complete training take place before the individualized pass level is set in order that the impairment can be detected. The results provide a more general basis for the application of reward/penalty structures in manual control research.

Wearable, wireless gas sensors using highly stretchable and transparent structures of nanowires and graphene.

PubMed

Park, Jihun; Kim, Joohee; Kim, Kukjoo; Kim, So-Yun; Cheong, Woon Hyung; Park, Kyeongmin; Song, Joo Hyeb; Namgoong, GyeongHo; Kim, Jae Joon; Heo, Jaeyeong; Bien, Franklin; Park, Jang-Ung

2016-05-19

Herein, we report the fabrication of a highly stretchable, transparent gas sensor based on silver nanowire-graphene hybrid nanostructures. Due to its superb mechanical and optical characteristics, the fabricated sensor demonstrates outstanding and stable performances even under extreme mechanical deformation (stable until 20% of strain). The integration of a Bluetooth system or an inductive antenna enables the wireless operation of the sensor. In addition, the mechanical robustness of the materials allows the device to be transferred onto various nonplanar substrates, including a watch, a bicycle light, and the leaves of live plants, thereby achieving next-generation sensing electronics for the 'Internet of Things' area.

Three Axes MEMS Combined Sensor for Electronic Stability Control System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeong, Heewon; Goto, Yasushi; Aono, Takanori; Nakamura, Toshiaki; Hayashi, Masahide

A microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) combined sensor measuring two-axis accelerations and an angular rate (rotation) has been developed for an electronic stability control system of automobiles. With the recent trend to mount the combined sensors in the engine compartment, the operation temperature range increased drastically, with the request of immunity to environmental disturbances such as vibration. In this paper, we report the combined sensor which has a gyroscopic part and two acceleration parts in single die. A deformation-robust MEMS structure has been adopted to achieve stable operation under wide temperature range (-40 to 125°C) in the engine compartment. A package as small as 10 × 19 × 4 mm is achieved by adopting TSV (through silicon via) and WLP (wafer-level package) technologies with enough performance as automotive grade.

A novel high-speed PLC communication modem

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abraham, K.C.; Roy, S.

1992-10-01

In this paper an innovative design for power line carrier (PLC) communication using digitally modulated signals is presented. The major contribution consists of a new signal coupler to the power line that achieves a stable transmission bandwidth of 4 KHz on distribution lines over long distances. Preliminary field tests achieved half-duplex operation at 1.2 Kbaud over a distribution power line to the 120V network and back with a symbol error rate of about 2% using less than about 10 W of average transmitted power, which is considerably superior to the present state-of-the-art PLC modems. Full-duplex operation over 120/240V intra-building wiringmore » has also been field tested at 9.6 Kbaud over distances of 3000 ft. using 1W of average transmitted power.« less

Stable, low cost SAW microwave transmitter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lau, K. F.; Yen, K. H.

1986-06-01

The design flexibility and application possibilities of surface acoustic wave (SAW) technology is discussed. When a highly stable, AM-modulated transmitter is required, a SAW resonator can provide an oscillator Q of up to 20,000 at 1 GHz. When FM modulation is required, the SAW delay line can provide a lower oscillator Q, which represents the optimum tradeoff between frequency stability and FM modulability. The capabilities of SAW oscillators are reviewed, and two example transmitters are presented. One transmitter operates at 1680 MHz and provides an AM-modulated signal. The second operates at the 400 to 406 MHz range and provides an FM-modulated output at one of six frequencies. SAW transmitters are suitable for applications where moderately high stability and low cost are key factors. With direct generation of signals at microwave frequencies and the flexibility of SAW oscillator design, a wide range of performance characteristics can be achieved.

Evaluation of innovative operation concept for flat sheet MBR filtration system.

PubMed

Weinrich, L; Grélot, A

2008-01-01

One of the most limiting factors for the extension and acceptance of MBR filtration systems for municipal and industrial wastewater is the impact of membrane fouling on maintenance, operation and cleaning efforts. One field of action in the European Research Project "AMEDEUS" is the development and testing of MBR module concepts with innovative fouling-prevention technology from three European module manufacturers. This article deals with the performances of the flat-sheet modules by A3 Water Solutions GmbH in double-deck configuration evaluated over 10 months in Anjou Recherche under typical biological operation conditions for MBR systems (MLSS = 10 g/l; SRT = 25 days). By using a double-deck configuration, it is possible to operate with a net flux of 25.5 l/m2.h at 20 degrees C, a membrane air flow rate of 0.21 Nm3/h.m2 of membrane to achieve a stable permeability of around 500-600 l/m2.h.bar. Additionally, it was observed that it is possible to recover the membrane performance after biofouling during operation without intensive cleaning and to maintain stable permeability during peak flows. The evaluated concepts for equipping and operating MBR systems will be applied to several full-scale plants constructed by A3 Water Solutions GmbH.

Identifying the limitations of conventional biofiltration of diffuse methane emissions at long-term operation.

PubMed

Gómez-Cuervo, S; Hernández, J; Omil, F

2016-08-01

There is growing international concern about the increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, particularly CO2 and methane. The emissions of methane derived from human activities are associated with large flows and very low concentrations, such as those emitted from landfills and wastewater treatment plants, among others. The present work was focused on the biological methane degradation at diffuse concentrations (0.2% vv(-1)) in a conventional biofilter using a mixture of compost, perlite and bark chips as carrier. An extensive characterization of the process was carried out at long-term operation (250 days) in a fully monitored pilot plant, achieving stable conditions during the entire period. Operational parameters such as waterings, nitrogen addition and inlet loads and contact time influences were evaluated. Obtained results indicate that empty bed residence times within 4-8 min are crucial to maximize elimination rates. Waterings and the type of nitrogen supplied in the nutrient solution (ammonia or nitrate) have a strong impact on the biofilter performance. The better results compatible with a stable operation were achieved using nitrate, with elimination capacities up to 7.6 ± 1.1 g CH4 m(-3 )h(-1). The operation at low inlet concentrations (IC) implied that removal rates obtained were quite limited (ranging 3-8 g CH4 m(-3 )h(-1)); however, these results could be significantly increased (up to 20.6 g CH4 m(-3) h(-1)) at higher IC, which indicates that the mass transfer from the gas to the liquid layer surrounding the biofilm is a key limitation of the process.

Flow Range of Centrifugal Compressor Being Extended

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Skoch, Gary J.

2001-01-01

General Aviation will benefit from turbine engines that are both fuel-efficient and reliable. Current engines fall short of their potential to achieve these attributes. The reason is compressor surge, which is a flow stability problem that develops when the compressor is subjected to conditions that are outside of its operating range. Compressor surge can occur when fuel flow to the engine is increased, temporarily back pressuring the compressor and pushing it past its stability limit, or when the compressor is subjected to inlet flow-field distortions that may occur during takeoff and landing. Compressor surge can result in the loss of an aircraft. As a result, engine designers include a margin of safety between the operating line of the engine and the stability limit line of the compressor. Unfortunately, the most efficient operating line for the compressor is usually closer to its stability limit line than it is to the line that provides an adequate margin of safety. A wider stable flow range will permit operation along the most efficient operating line of the compressor, improving the specific fuel consumption of the engine and reducing emissions. The NASA Glenn Research Center is working to extend the stable flow range of the compressor. Significant extension has been achieved in axial compressors by injecting air upstream of the compressor blade rows. Recently, the technique was successfully applied to a 4:1 pressure ratio centrifugal compressor by injecting streams of air into the diffuser. Both steady and controlled unsteady injection were used to inject air through the diffuser shroud surface and extend the range. Future work will evaluate the effect of air injection through the diffuser hub surface and diffuser vanes with the goal of maximizing the range extension while minimizing the amount of injected air that is required.

Achieve efficient nitrogen removal from real sewage in a plug-flow integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) reactor via partial nitritation/anammox pathway.

PubMed

Yang, Yandong; Zhang, Liang; Cheng, Jun; Zhang, Shujun; Li, Baikun; Peng, Yongzhen

2017-09-01

This study tested the feasibility of plug-flow integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) reactor in applying sewage partial nitritation/anammox (PN/A) process. The IFAS reactor was fed with real pre-treated sewage (C/N ratio=1.3) and operated for 200days. High nitrogen removal efficiency of 82% was achieved with nitrogen removal rates of 0.097±0.019kgN/(m 3 ·d). Therefore, plug-flow IFAS reactor could be an alternative to applying sewage PN/A process. Besides, it was found that the stability of sewage PN/A process was significantly affected by residual ammonium. Nitrate accumulated in effluent and PN/A performance deteriorated when residual ammonium was below 1mg/L. On the contrary, long-term stable PN/A operation was achieved when residual ammonium was over 3mg/L. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Discussion on joint operation of wind farm and pumped-storage hydroplant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Caifang; Wu, Yichun; Liang, Hao; Li, Miao

2017-12-01

Due to the random fluctuations in wind power, large amounts of grid integration will have a negative impact on grid operation and the consumers. The joint operation with pumped-storage hydroplant with good peak shaving performance can effectively reduce the negative impact on the safety and economic operation of power grid, and improve the utilization of wind power. In addition, joint operation can achieve the optimization of green power and improve the comprehensive economic benefits. Actually, the rational profit distribution of joint operation is the premise of sustainable and stable cooperation. This paper focuses on the profit distribution of joint operation, and applies improved shapely value method, which taking the investments and the contributions of each participant in the cooperation into account, to determine the profit distribution. Moreover, the distribution scheme can provide an effective reference for the actual joint operation of wind farm and pumped-storage hydroplant.

Alkaline anion exchange membrane water electrolysis: Effects of electrolyte feed method and electrode binder content

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, Min Kyung; Park, Hee-Young; Lee, Hye Jin; Kim, Hyoung-Juhn; Lim, Ahyoun; Henkensmeier, Dirk; Yoo, Sung Jong; Kim, Jin Young; Lee, So Young; Park, Hyun S.; Jang, Jong Hyun

2018-04-01

Herein, we investigate the effects of catholyte feed method and anode binder content on the characteristics of anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) to construct a high-performance electrolyzer, revealing that the initial AEMWE performance is significantly improved by pre-feeding 0.5 M aqueous KOH to the cathode. The highest long-term activity during repeated voltage cycling is observed for AEMWE operation in the dry cathode mode, for which the best long-term performance among membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) featuring polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) binder-impregnated (5-20 wt%) anodes is detected for a PTFE content of 20 wt%. MEAs with low PTFE content (5 and 9 wt%) demonstrate high initial performance, rapid performance decay, and significant catalyst loss from the electrode during long-term operation, whereas the MEA with 20 wt% PTFE allows stable water electrolysis for over 1600 voltage cycles. Optimization of cell operating conditions (i.e., operation in dry cathode mode at an optimum anode binder content following an initial solution feed) achieves an enhanced water splitting current density (1.07 A cm-2 at 1.8 V) and stable long-term AEMWE performance (0.01% current density reduction per voltage cycle).

A Compact Operational Amplifier with Load-Insensitive Stability Compensation for High-Precision Transducer Interface.

PubMed

Yu, Zhanghao; Yang, Xi; Chung, SungWon

2018-01-29

High-resolution electronic interface circuits for transducers with nonlinear capacitive impedance need an operational amplifier, which is stable for a wide range of load capacitance. Such operational amplifier in a conventional design requires a large area for compensation capacitors, increasing costs and limiting applications. In order to address this problem, we present a gain-boosted two-stage operational amplifier, whose frequency response compensation capacitor size is insensitive to the load capacitance and also orders of magnitude smaller compared to the conventional Miller-compensation capacitor that often dominates chip area. By exploiting pole-zero cancellation between a gain-boosting stage and the main amplifier stage, the compensation capacitor of the proposed operational amplifier becomes less dependent of load capacitance, so that it can also operate with a wide range of load capacitance. A prototype operational amplifier designed in 0.13-μm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) with a 400-fF compensation capacitor occupies 900- μ m 2 chip area and achieves 0.022-2.78-MHz unity gain bandwidth and over 65 ∘ phase margin with a load capacitance of 0.1-15 nF. The prototype amplifier consumes 7.6 μ W from a single 1.0-V supply. For a given compensation capacitor size and a chip area, the prototype design demonstrates the best reported performance trade-off on unity gain bandwidth, maximum stable load capacitance, and power consumption.

Dynamic Droop–Based Inertial Control of a Doubly-Fed Induction Generator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hwang, Min; Muljadi, Eduard; Park, Jung-Wook

2016-07-01

If a large disturbance occurs in a power grid, two auxiliary loops for the inertial control of a wind turbine generator have been used: droop loop and rate of change of frequency (ROCOF) loop. Because their gains are fixed, difficulties arise in determining them suitable for all grid and wind conditions. This paper proposes a dynamic droop-based inertial control scheme of a doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG). The scheme aims to improve the frequency nadir (FN) and ensure stable operation of a DFIG. To achieve the first goal, the scheme uses a droop loop, but it dynamically changes its gain basedmore » on the ROCOF to release a large amount of kinetic energy during the initial stage of a disturbance. To do this, a shaping function that relates the droop to the ROCOF is used. To achieve the second goal, different shaping functions, which depend on rotor speeds, are used to give a large contribution in high wind conditions and prevent over-deceleration in low wind conditions during inertial control. The performance of the proposed scheme was investigated under various wind conditions using an EMTP-RV simulator. The results indicate that the scheme improves the FN and ensures stable operation of a DFIG.« less

Fermentative hydrogen production from soybean protein processing wastewater in an anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) using anaerobic mixed consortia.

PubMed

Zhu, Ge-fu; Li, Jian-zheng; Liu, Chao-xiang

2012-09-01

Fermentative H(2) production from soybean protein processing wastewater (SPPW) was investigated in a four-compartment anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) using anaerobic mixed cultures under continuous flow condition in the present study. After being inoculated with aerobic activated sludge and operated at the inoculants of 5.98 gVSS L(-1), COD of 5000 mg L(-1), HRT of 16 h and temperature of (35 ± 1) °C for 22 days, the ABR achieved stable ethanol-type fermentation. The specific hydrogen production rate of anaerobic activated sludge was 165 LH(2)kg MLVSS(-1) day(-1), the substrate conversion rate was 600.83 LH(2)kg COD(-1)and the COD removal efficiency was 44.73% at the stable operation status. The ABR system exhibited a better stability and higher hydrogen yields than continuous stirring tank reactor under the same operational condition. The experimental data documented the feasibility of substrate degradation along with molecular H(2) generation utilizing SPPW as primary carbon source in the ABR system.

11-GHz waveguide Nd:YAG laser CW mode-locked with single-layer graphene.

PubMed

Okhrimchuk, Andrey G; Obraztsov, Petr A

2015-06-08

We report stable, passive, continuous-wave (CW) mode-locking of a compact diode-pumped waveguide Nd:YAG laser with a single-layer graphene saturable absorber. The depressed cladding waveguide in the Nd:YAG crystal is fabricated with an ultrafast laser inscription method. The saturable absorber is formed by direct deposition of CVD single-layer graphene on the output coupler. The few millimeter-long cavity provides generation of 16-ps pulses with repetition rates in the GHz range (up to 11.3 GHz) and 12 mW average power. Stable CW mode-locking operation is achieved by controlling the group delay dispersion in the laser cavity with a Gires-Tournois interferometer.

11-GHz waveguide Nd:YAG laser CW mode-locked with single-layer graphene

PubMed Central

Okhrimchuk, Andrey G.; Obraztsov, Petr A.

2015-01-01

We report stable, passive, continuous-wave (CW) mode-locking of a compact diode-pumped waveguide Nd:YAG laser with a single-layer graphene saturable absorber. The depressed cladding waveguide in the Nd:YAG crystal is fabricated with an ultrafast laser inscription method. The saturable absorber is formed by direct deposition of CVD single-layer graphene on the output coupler. The few millimeter-long cavity provides generation of 16-ps pulses with repetition rates in the GHz range (up to 11.3 GHz) and 12 mW average power. Stable CW mode-locking operation is achieved by controlling the group delay dispersion in the laser cavity with a Gires–Tournois interferometer. PMID:26052678

Design and realization of high voltage disconnector condition monitoring system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Jinrui; Xu, Tianyang; Yang, Shuixian; Li, Buoyang

2017-08-01

The operation status of the high voltage disconnector directly affects the safe and stable operation of the power system. This article uses the wireless frequency hopping communication technology of the communication module to achieve the temperature acquisition of the switch contacts and high voltage bus, to introduce the current value of the loop in ECS, and judge the operation status of the disconnector by considering the ambient temperature, calculating the temperature rise; And through the acquisition of the current of drive motor in the process of switch closing and opening, and fault diagnosis of the disconnector by analyzing the change rule of the drive motor current, the condition monitoring of the high voltage disconnector is realized.

Passively mode-locked diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 oscillator operating at an ultralow repetition rate.

PubMed

Papadopoulos, D N; Forget, S; Delaigue, M; Druon, F; Balembois, F; Georges, P

2003-10-01

We demonstrate the operation of an ultralow-repetition-rate, high-peak-power, picosecond diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 passively mode-locked laser oscillator. Repetition rates lower than 1 MHz were achieved with the use of a new design for a multiple-pass cavity and a semiconductor saturable absorber. Long-term stable operation at 1.2 MHz with a pulse duration of 16.3 ps and an average output power of 470 mW, corresponding to 24-kW peak-power pulses, is reported. These are to our knowledge the lowest-repetition-rate high-peak-power pulses ever generated directly from apicosecond laser resonator without cavity dumping.

Impact of concomitant trauma in the management of blunt splenic injuries.

PubMed

Lo, Albert; Matheson, Anne-Marie; Adams, Dave

2004-09-10

Conservative management of isolated blunt splenic injuries has become widely accepted for haemodynamically stable patients, but may be untenable in those with multiple injuries. A retrospective review was performed to evaluate of our cumulative experience with non-operative management of splenic injuries, and to identify the risk factors for operative management. Eighty patients were identified. Demographics, mechanism of injury, injury severity score (ISS), clinical signs at presentation, utility of computed tomography scans and methods of treatment (operative management vs conservative management) were documented and statistically analysed to identify predictors for operative management. Initially, 45 patients (56%) were managed without operation, while 35 patients underwent urgent laparotomy - with 26 (74% in operative group) of these having splenectomy performed. Two patients (out of 45) failed conservative management and required delayed splenectomy, a 96% success rate for intended conservative management. Thus, overall rates of 54% non-operative management and 65% splenic conservation were achieved. The mean ISS of the operative management group (ISS=30) was higher than that of the non-operative treatment group (ISS=13, p<0.05), reflecting not only the grade of the splenic injury but also the severity of concomitant trauma. Risk factors for patients with blunt splenic injuries requiring operative management include ISS > or =16, hypotension, GCS < or =13, and requirement for blood transfusion (p<0.05). Appropriate patient selection is the most important element of non-operative management. Patients with splenic injuries who are haemodynamically stable can be managed non-operatively with acceptable outcome. However, in the presence of concomitant trauma, there is an increasing trend towards operative management.

Performance of anaerobic fluidized membrane bioreactors using effluents of microbial fuel cells treating domestic wastewater.

PubMed

Kim, Kyoung-Yeol; Yang, Wulin; Ye, Yaoli; LaBarge, Nicole; Logan, Bruce E

2016-05-01

Anaerobic fluidized membrane bioreactors (AFMBRs) have been mainly developed as a post-treatment process to produce high quality effluent with very low energy consumption. The performance of an AFMBR was examined using the effluent from a microbial fuel cell (MFC) treating domestic wastewater, as a function of AFMBR hydraulic retention times (HRTs) and organic matter loading rates. The MFC-AFMBR achieved 89 ± 3% removal of the chemical oxygen demand (COD), with an effluent of 36 ± 6 mg-COD/L over 112 days operation. The AFMBR had very stable operation, with no significant changes in COD removal efficiencies, for HRTs ranging from 1.2 to 3.8h, although the effluent COD concentration increased with organic loading. Transmembrane pressure (TMP) was low, and could be maintained below 0.12 bar through solids removal. This study proved that the AFMBR could be operated with a short HRT but a low COD loading rate was required to achieve low effluent COD. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adopted Methodology for Cool-Down of SST-1 Superconducting Magnet System: Operational Experience with the Helium Refrigerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahu, A. K.; Sarkar, B.; Panchal, P.; Tank, J.; Bhattacharya, R.; Panchal, R.; Tanna, V. L.; Patel, R.; Shukla, P.; Patel, J. C.; Singh, M.; Sonara, D.; Sharma, R.; Duggar, R.; Saxena, Y. C.

2008-03-01

The 1.3 kW at 4.5 K helium refrigerator / liquefier (HRL) was commissioned during the year 2003. The HRL was operated with its different modes as per the functional requirements of the experiments. The superconducting magnets system (SCMS) of SST-1 was successfully cooled down to 4.5 K. The actual loads were different from the originally predicted boundary conditions and an adjustment in the thermodynamic balance of the refrigerator was necessary. This led to enhanced capacity, which was achieved without any additional hardware. The required control system for the HRL was tuned to achieve the stable thermodynamic balance, while keeping the turbines' operating parameters at optimized conditions. An extra mass flow rate requirement was met by exploiting the margin available with the compressor station. The methodology adopted to modify the capacity of the HRL, the safety precautions and experience of SCMS cool down to 4.5 K, are discussed.

Tunable multiwavelength fiber laser based on a θ-shaped microfiber filter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yue; Xu, Zhilin; Luo, Yiyang; Xiang, Yang; Yan, Zhijun; Liu, Deming; Sun, Qizhen

2018-06-01

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a flexibly tunable multiwavelength fiber ring laser based on a θ-shaped microfiber filter in conjunction with an erbium-doped fiber amplifier. The stable operation of the multiwavelength lasing is successfully achieved at room temperature, with the peak power fluctuation less than 0.519 dB. By micro-adjusting the cavity length of the filter, the channel spacing can be independently tuned within the gain range of the optical amplifier. We have achieved 0.084 nm-spacing 48 channel, 0.147 nm-spacing 25 channel, 0.190 nm-spacing 20 channel and 0.302 nm-spacing 15 channel lasing wavelengths at room temperature.

The Stability of Chandra Telescope Pointing and Spacial Resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Ping

2018-01-01

Chandra X-ray Observatory revolutionized the X-ray astronomy as being the first, and so far the only, X-ray telescope achieving sub-arcsecond spacial resolution. Chandra is comprised of three principal elements: the High Resolution Mirror Assembly (HRMA), Pointing Control and Aspect Determination (PCAD) system, and the Science Instrument Module (SIM), which is where the X-ray detectors mounted and is connected to the HRMA by a 10-meter long Optical Bench Assembly. To achieve and retain the unprecedented imaging quality, it is critical that these three principal elements to stay rigid and stable for the entire life time of the Chandra operation. I will review the issues of telescope pointing stability, optical Axis, aimpoint and their impacts to the Chandra operation, and evaluate the integrity and stability of the telescope. I will show images taken from all four detectors since launch to demonstrate the quality and stability of the Chandra spacial resolution.

The Quality and Stability of Chandra Telescope Spacial Resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Ping

2017-08-01

Chandra X-ray Observatory revolutionized the X-ray astronomy as being the first, and so far the only, X-ray telescope achieving sub-arcsecond spacial resolution. Chandra is comprised of three principal elements: the High Resolution Mirror Assembly (HRMA), Pointing Control and Aspect Determination (PCAD) system, and the Science Instrument Module (SIM), which is where the X-ray detectors mounted and is connected to the HRMA by a 10-meter long Optical Bench Assembly. To achieve and retain the unprecedented imaging quality, it is critical that these three principal elements to stay rigid and stable for the entire life time of the Chandra operation. I will review the issues of telescope pointing stability, optical Axis, aimpoint and their impacts to the Chandra operation, and evaluate the integrity and stability of the telescope. I will show images taken from all four detectors since launch to demonstrate the quality and stability of the Chandra spacial resolution.

Aeration control of thermophilic aerobic digestion using fluorescence monitoring.

PubMed

Kim, Young-Kee; Oh, Byung-Keun

2009-01-01

The thermophilic aerobic digestion (TAD) process is recognized as an effective method for rapid waste activated sludge (WAS) degradation and the deactivation of pathogenic microorganisms. Yet, high energy costs due to heating and aeration have limited the commercialization of economical TAD processes. Previous research on autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion (ATAD) has already reduced the heating cost. However, only a few studies have focused on reducing the aeration cost. Therefore, this study applied a two-step aeration control strategy to a fill-and-draw mode semicontinuous TAD process. The NADH-dependent fluorescence was monitored throughout the TAD experiment, and the aeration rate shifted according to the fluorescence intensity. As a result, the simple two-step aeration control operation achieved a 20.3% reduction in the total aeration, while maintaining an effective and stable operation. It is also expected that more savings can be achieved with a further reduction of the lower aeration rate or multisegmentation of the aeration rate.

Integration of aerobic granular sludge and mesh filter membrane bioreactor for cost-effective wastewater treatment.

PubMed

Li, Wen-Wei; Wang, Yun-Kun; Sheng, Guo-Ping; Gui, Yong-Xin; Yu, Lei; Xie, Tong-Qing; Yu, Han-Qing

2012-10-01

Conventional MBR has been mostly based on floc sludge and the use of costly microfiltration membranes. Here, a novel aerobic granule (AG)-mesh filter MBR (MMBR) process was developed for cost-effective wastewater treatment. During 32-day continuous operation, a predominance of granules was maintained in the system, and good filtration performance was achieved at a low trans-membrane pressure (TMP) of below 0.025 m. The granules showed a lower fouling propensity than sludge flocs, attributed to the formation of more porous biocake layer at mesh surface. A low-flux and low-TMP filtration favored a stable system operation. In addition, the reactor had high pollutant removal efficiencies, with a 91.4% chemical oxygen demand removal, 95.7% NH(4)(+) removal, and a low effluent turbidity of 4.1 NTU at the stable stage. This AG-MMBR process offers a promising technology for low-cost and efficient treatment of wastewaters. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Demonstration of a stable ultrafast laser based on a nonlinear microcavity

PubMed Central

Peccianti, M.; Pasquazi, A.; Park, Y.; Little, B.E.; Chu, S.T.; Moss, D.J.; Morandotti, R.

2012-01-01

Ultrashort pulsed lasers, operating through the phenomenon of mode-locking, have had a significant role in many facets of our society for 50 years, for example, in the way we exchange information, measure and diagnose diseases, process materials, and in many other applications. Recently, high-quality resonators have been exploited to demonstrate optical combs. The ability to phase-lock their modes would allow mode-locked lasers to benefit from their high optical spectral quality, helping to realize novel sources such as precision optical clocks for applications in metrology, telecommunication, microchip-computing, and many other areas. Here we demonstrate the first mode-locked laser based on a microcavity resonator. It operates via a new mode-locking method, which we term filter-driven four-wave mixing, and is based on a CMOS-compatible high quality factor microring resonator. It achieves stable self-starting oscillation with negligible amplitude noise at ultrahigh repetition rates, and spectral linewidths well below 130 kHz. PMID:22473009

A Practical Cryogen-Free CO2 Purification and Freezing Technique for Stable Isotope Analysis.

PubMed

Sakai, Saburo; Matsuda, Shinichi

2017-04-18

Since isotopic analysis by mass spectrometry began in the early 1900s, sample gas for light-element isotopic measurements has been purified by the use of cryogens and vacuum-line systems. However, this conventional purification technique can achieve only certain temperatures that depend on the cryogens and can be sustained only as long as there is a continuous cryogen supply. Here, we demonstrate a practical cryogen-free CO 2 purification technique using an electrical operated cryocooler for stable isotope analysis. This approach is based on portable free-piston Stirling cooling technology and controls the temperature to an accuracy of 0.1 °C in a range from room temperature to -196 °C (liquid-nitrogen temperature). The lowest temperature can be achieved in as little as 10 min. We successfully purified CO 2 gas generated by carbonates and phosphoric acid reaction and found its sublimation point to be -155.6 °C at 0.1 Torr in the vacuum line. This means that the temperature required for CO 2 trapping is much higher than the liquid-nitrogen temperature. Our portable cooling system offers the ability to be free from the inconvenience of cryogen use for stable isotope analysis. It also offers a new cooling method applicable to a number of fields that use gas measurements.

All fiber-coupled, long-term stable timing distribution for free-electron lasers with few-femtosecond jitter

PubMed Central

Şafak, K.; Xin, M.; Callahan, P. T.; Peng, M. Y.; Kärtner, F. X.

2015-01-01

We report recent progress made in a complete fiber-optic, high-precision, long-term stable timing distribution system for synchronization of next generation X-ray free-electron lasers. Timing jitter characterization of the master laser shows less than 170-as RMS integrated jitter for frequencies above 10 kHz, limited by the detection noise floor. Timing stabilization of a 3.5-km polarization-maintaining fiber link is successfully achieved with an RMS drift of 3.3 fs over 200 h of operation using all fiber-coupled elements. This all fiber-optic implementation will greatly reduce the complexity of optical alignment in timing distribution systems and improve the overall mechanical and timing stability of the system. PMID:26798814

Fiber-optic delay-line stabilization of heterodyne optical signal generator and method using same

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Logan, Ronald T. (Inventor)

1997-01-01

The present invention is a laser heterodyne frequency generator system with a stabilizer for use in the microwave and millimeter-wave frequency ranges utilizing a photonic mixer as a photonic phase detector in a stable optical fiber delay-line. Phase and frequency fluctuations of the heterodyne laser signal generators are stabilized at microwave and millimeter wave frequencies by a delay line system operating as a frequency discriminator. The present invention is free from amplifier and mixer 1/.function. noise at microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies that typically limit phase noise performance in electronic cavity stabilized electronic oscillators. Thus, 1/.function. noise due to conventional mixers is eliminated and stable optical heterodyne generation of electrical signals is achieved.

A diesel fuel processor for fuel-cell-based auxiliary power unit applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samsun, Remzi Can; Krekel, Daniel; Pasel, Joachim; Prawitz, Matthias; Peters, Ralf; Stolten, Detlef

2017-07-01

Producing a hydrogen-rich gas from diesel fuel enables the efficient generation of electricity in a fuel-cell-based auxiliary power unit. In recent years, significant progress has been achieved in diesel reforming. One issue encountered is the stable operation of water-gas shift reactors with real reformates. A new fuel processor is developed using a commercial shift catalyst. The system is operated using optimized start-up and shut-down strategies. Experiments with diesel and kerosene fuels show slight performance drops in the shift reactor during continuous operation for 100 h. CO concentrations much lower than the target value are achieved during system operation in auxiliary power unit mode at partial loads of up to 60%. The regeneration leads to full recovery of the shift activity. Finally, a new operation strategy is developed whereby the gas hourly space velocity of the shift stages is re-designed. This strategy is validated using different diesel and kerosene fuels, showing a maximum CO concentration of 1.5% at the fuel processor outlet under extreme conditions, which can be tolerated by a high-temperature PEFC. The proposed operation strategy solves the issue of strong performance drop in the shift reactor and makes this technology available for reducing emissions in the transportation sector.

A Compact Operational Amplifier with Load-Insensitive Stability Compensation for High-Precision Transducer Interface

PubMed Central

Yang, Xi

2018-01-01

High-resolution electronic interface circuits for transducers with nonlinear capacitive impedance need an operational amplifier, which is stable for a wide range of load capacitance. Such operational amplifier in a conventional design requires a large area for compensation capacitors, increasing costs and limiting applications. In order to address this problem, we present a gain-boosted two-stage operational amplifier, whose frequency response compensation capacitor size is insensitive to the load capacitance and also orders of magnitude smaller compared to the conventional Miller-compensation capacitor that often dominates chip area. By exploiting pole-zero cancellation between a gain-boosting stage and the main amplifier stage, the compensation capacitor of the proposed operational amplifier becomes less dependent of load capacitance, so that it can also operate with a wide range of load capacitance. A prototype operational amplifier designed in 0.13-μm complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) with a 400-fF compensation capacitor occupies 900-μm2 chip area and achieves 0.022–2.78-MHz unity gain bandwidth and over 65∘ phase margin with a load capacitance of 0.1–15 nF. The prototype amplifier consumes 7.6 μW from a single 1.0-V supply. For a given compensation capacitor size and a chip area, the prototype design demonstrates the best reported performance trade-off on unity gain bandwidth, maximum stable load capacitance, and power consumption. PMID:29382183

Mechanical aspects of a multidirectional, angular stable osteosynthesis system and comparison with four conventional systems.

PubMed

Gbara, Ali; Heiland, Max; Schmelzle, Rainer; Blake, Felix

2008-04-01

Following open reduction, internal fixation of fractures of the mandible is predominantly achieved using plates and screws. Today, a multitude of osteosynthesis systems are available on the market. One therapy modality, primarily developed for orthopaedic surgery, is using angular stable osteosynthesis plate systems. The dominating principle of these is the bond between screw and plate following insertion. This principle of an "internal fixateur" results in a more stable fixation of the fragments associated with less compression of the bone surfaces. A new multidirectional osteosynthesis system (TiFix=Smartlock, Hamburg - Germany) was modified to fit the maxillofacial region and compared with four other well established osteosynthesis systems developed by Mondial, Medicon, Synthes, Leibinger-Stryker, one of these (Unilock by Synthes) being also angular stable. The resistance to deformation in varying directions was investigated following fixation in four different materials. The TiFix system proved more resistant to deformation even when mounted with fewer screws than the non-angular stable systems. This system results in greater stability even when fewer screws are used. For the clinician this means smaller access incisions, less soft tissue trauma, better aesthetic results, decreased duration of operation and a reduction of costs.

Initial performance of the COSINE-100 experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adhikari, G.; Adhikari, P.; de Souza, E. Barbosa; Carlin, N.; Choi, S.; Choi, W. Q.; Djamal, M.; Ezeribe, A. C.; Ha, C.; Hahn, I. S.; Hubbard, A. J. F.; Jeon, E. J.; Jo, J. H.; Joo, H. W.; Kang, W. G.; Kang, W.; Kauer, M.; Kim, B. H.; Kim, H.; Kim, H. J.; Kim, K. W.; Kim, M. C.; Kim, N. Y.; Kim, S. K.; Kim, Y. D.; Kim, Y. H.; Kudryavtsev, V. A.; Lee, H. S.; Lee, J.; Lee, J. Y.; Lee, M. H.; Leonard, D. S.; Lim, K. E.; Lynch, W. A.; Maruyama, R. H.; Mouton, F.; Olsen, S. L.; Park, H. K.; Park, H. S.; Park, J. S.; Park, K. S.; Pettus, W.; Pierpoint, Z. P.; Prihtiadi, H.; Ra, S.; Rogers, F. R.; Rott, C.; Scarff, A.; Spooner, N. J. C.; Thompson, W. G.; Yang, L.; Yong, S. H.

2018-02-01

COSINE is a dark matter search experiment based on an array of low background NaI(Tl) crystals located at the Yangyang underground laboratory. The assembly of COSINE-100 was completed in the summer of 2016 and the detector is currently collecting physics quality data aimed at reproducing the DAMA/LIBRA experiment that reported an annual modulation signal. Stable operation has been achieved and will continue for at least 2 years. Here, we describe the design of COSINE-100, including the shielding arrangement, the configuration of the NaI(Tl) crystal detection elements, the veto systems, and the associated operational systems, and we show the current performance of the experiment.

Nitrite accumulation performance of aerobic MBBR treating Lurgi coal gasification waste water by adjusting pollutant load and DO concentration.

PubMed

Li, Hui-Qiang; Han, Hong-Jun

2015-01-01

An aerobic moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) was adopted to treat Lurgi coal gasification waste water (LCGW) in about 10 months. The pollutant load and dissolve oxygen (DO) concentration were adjusted by trying to maximize the accumulation of [Formula: see text] in the MBBR for LCGW treatment. The highest [Formula: see text] accumulation proportion [Formula: see text] was 73.9%, but was not stable with influent chemical oxygen demand (COD) and DO concentrations of around 1000 and 1.5 mg/L, respectively. Around 1500 mg/L of influent COD concentration and 1.5 mg/L of DO concentration were proper operation conditions for the aerobic MBBR to achieve relatively stable [Formula: see text] accumulation, with [Formula: see text] ratio at 53% and [Formula: see text] ratio at just 4.3% in the effluent. More specifically, free ammonia concentration and DO concentration affected [Formula: see text] accumulation much more obvious than phenols concentration. The activity and quantity of nitrifying bacteria growth in suspended sludge and biofilm of the MBBR were monitored simultaneously to explain the variations of [Formula: see text] accumulation performance under different operation conditions. An aerobic moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) was adopted to treat Lurgi coal gasification waste water (LCGW)in about 10 months. The pollutant load and dissolve oxygen (DO) concentration were adjusted by trying to maximize the accumulation of NO(−)(2)−N in the MBBR for LCGW treatment. The highest NO(−)(2)−N accumulation proportion(NO(−)(2)−Neffluent/TN effluent) was 73.9%, but was not stable with influent chemical oxygen demand (COD) and DO concentrations of around 1000 and 1.5 mg/L, respectively. Around 1500 mg/L of influent COD concentration and 1.5 mg/L of DO concentration were proper operation conditions for the aerobic MBBR to achieve relatively stable NO(−)(2)−N accumulation,with NO(−)(2)−N/TN ratio at 53% and NO(-)(3)−N/TN ratio at just 4.3% in the effluent. More specifically, free ammonia concentration and DO concentration affected NO(2)(−)N accumulation much more obvious than phenols concentration. The activity and quantity of nitrifying bacteria growth in suspended sludge and biofilm of the MBBR were monitored simultaneously toexplain the variations of NO(−)(2)−N accumulation performance under different operation conditions.

Ultra Stable Microwave Radiometers for Future Sea Surface Salinity Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, William J.; Tanner, Alan B.; Pellerano, Fernando A.; Horgan, Kevin A.

2005-01-01

The NASA Earth Science System Pathfinder (ESSP) mission Aquarius will measure global sea surface salinity with 100-km spatial resolution every 8 days with an average monthly salinity accuracy of 0.2 psu (parts per thousand). This requires an L-band low-noise radiometer with the long-term calibration stability of less than 0.1 K over 8 days. This three-year research program on ultra stable radiometers has addressed the radiometer requirements and configuration necessary to achieve this objective for Aquarius and future ocean salinity missions. The system configuration and component performance have been evaluated with radiometer testbeds at both JPL and GSFC. The research has addressed several areas including component characterization as a function of temperature, a procedure for the measurement and correction for radiometer system non-linearity, noise diode calibration versus temperature, low noise amplifier performance over voltage, and temperature control requirements to achieve the required stability. A breadboard radiometer, utilizing microstrip-based technologies, has been built to demonstrate this long-term stability. This report also presents the results of the radiometer test program, a detailed radiometer noise model, and details of the operational switching sequence optimization that can be used to achieve the low noise and stability requirements. Many of the results of this research have been incorporated into the Aquarius radiometer design and will allow this instrument to achieve its goals.

[Startup, stable operation and process failure of EBPR system under the low temperature and low dissolved oxygen condition].

PubMed

Ma, Juan; Li, Lu; Yu, Xiao-Jun; Wei, Xue-Fen; Liu, Juan-Li

2015-02-01

A sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was started up and operated with alternating anaerobic/oxic (An/O) to perform enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) under the condition of 13-16 degrees C. The results showed that under the condition of low temperature, the EBPR system was successfully started up in a short time (<6 d). The reactor achieved a high and stable phosphorus removal performance with an influent phosphate concentration of 20 mg x L(-1) and the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration of 2 mg x L(-1). The effluent phosphate concentration was lower than 0.5 mg x L(-1). It was found that decreasing DO had an influence on the steady operation of EBPR system. As DO concentration of aerobic phase decreased from 2 mg x L(-1) to 1 mg x L(-1), the system could still perform EBPR and the phosphorus removal efficiency was greater than 97.4%. However, the amount of phosphate released during anaerobic phase was observed to decrease slightly compared with that of 2 mg x L(-1) DO condition. Moreover, the phosphorus removal performance of the system deteriorated immediately and the effluent phosphate concentration couldn't meet the national integrated wastewater discharge standard when DO concentration was further lowered to 0.5 mg x L(-1). The experiments of increasing DO to recover phosphorus removal performance of the EBPR suggested the process failure resulted from low DO was not reversible in the short-term. It was also found that the batch tests of anoxic phosphorus uptake using nitrite and nitrate as electron acceptors had an impact on the stable operation of EBPR system, whereas the resulting negative influence could be recovered within 6 cycles. In addition, the mixed liquid suspended solids (MLSS) of the EBPR system remained stable and the sludge volume index (SVI) decreased to a certain extend in a long run, implying long-term low temperature and low DO condition favored the sludge sedimentation.

Internal combustion engine control for series hybrid electric vehicles by parallel and distributed genetic programming/multiobjective genetic algorithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gladwin, D.; Stewart, P.; Stewart, J.

2011-02-01

This article addresses the problem of maintaining a stable rectified DC output from the three-phase AC generator in a series-hybrid vehicle powertrain. The series-hybrid prime power source generally comprises an internal combustion (IC) engine driving a three-phase permanent magnet generator whose output is rectified to DC. A recent development has been to control the engine/generator combination by an electronically actuated throttle. This system can be represented as a nonlinear system with significant time delay. Previously, voltage control of the generator output has been achieved by model predictive methods such as the Smith Predictor. These methods rely on the incorporation of an accurate system model and time delay into the control algorithm, with a consequent increase in computational complexity in the real-time controller, and as a necessity relies to some extent on the accuracy of the models. Two complementary performance objectives exist for the control system. Firstly, to maintain the IC engine at its optimal operating point, and secondly, to supply a stable DC supply to the traction drive inverters. Achievement of these goals minimises the transient energy storage requirements at the DC link, with a consequent reduction in both weight and cost. These objectives imply constant velocity operation of the IC engine under external load disturbances and changes in both operating conditions and vehicle speed set-points. In order to achieve these objectives, and reduce the complexity of implementation, in this article a controller is designed by the use of Genetic Programming methods in the Simulink modelling environment, with the aim of obtaining a relatively simple controller for the time-delay system which does not rely on the implementation of real time system models or time delay approximations in the controller. A methodology is presented to utilise the miriad of existing control blocks in the Simulink libraries to automatically evolve optimal control structures.

Position Estimation of an Epicardial Crawling Robot on the Beating Heart by Modeling of Physiological Motion

PubMed Central

Wood, Nathan A.; del Agua, Diego Moral; Zenati, Marco A.; Riviere, Cameron N.

2012-01-01

HeartLander, a small mobile robot designed to provide treatments to the surface of the beating heart, overcomes a major difficulty of minimally invasive cardiac surgery, providing a stable operating platform. This is achieved inherently in the way the robot adheres to and crawls over the surface of the heart. This mode of operation does not require physiological motion compensation to provide this stable environment; however, modeling of physiological motion is advantageous in providing more accurate position estimation as well as synchronization of motion to the physiological cycles. The work presented uses an Extended Kalman Filter framework to estimate parameters of non-stationary Fourier series models of the motion of the heart due to the respiratory and cardiac cycles as well as the position of the robot as it moves over the surface of the heart. The proposed method is demonstrated in the laboratory with HeartLander operating on a physiological motion simulator. Improved performance is demonstrated in comparison to the filtering methods previously used with HeartLander. The use of detected physiological cycle phases to synchronize locomotion of HeartLander is also described. PMID:23066511

Position Estimation of an Epicardial Crawling Robot on the Beating Heart by Modeling of Physiological Motion.

PubMed

Wood, Nathan A; Del Agua, Diego Moral; Zenati, Marco A; Riviere, Cameron N

2011-12-05

HeartLander, a small mobile robot designed to provide treatments to the surface of the beating heart, overcomes a major difficulty of minimally invasive cardiac surgery, providing a stable operating platform. This is achieved inherently in the way the robot adheres to and crawls over the surface of the heart. This mode of operation does not require physiological motion compensation to provide this stable environment; however, modeling of physiological motion is advantageous in providing more accurate position estimation as well as synchronization of motion to the physiological cycles. The work presented uses an Extended Kalman Filter framework to estimate parameters of non-stationary Fourier series models of the motion of the heart due to the respiratory and cardiac cycles as well as the position of the robot as it moves over the surface of the heart. The proposed method is demonstrated in the laboratory with HeartLander operating on a physiological motion simulator. Improved performance is demonstrated in comparison to the filtering methods previously used with HeartLander. The use of detected physiological cycle phases to synchronize locomotion of HeartLander is also described.

Parametrically disciplined operation of a vibratory gyroscope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shcheglov, Kirill V. (Inventor); Challoner, A. Dorian (Inventor); Hayworth, Ken J. (Inventor); Peay, Chris S. (Inventor)

2008-01-01

Parametrically disciplined operation of a symmetric nearly degenerate mode vibratory gyroscope is disclosed. A parametrically-disciplined inertial wave gyroscope having a natural oscillation frequency in the neighborhood of a sub-harmonic of an external stable clock reference is produced by driving an electrostatic bias electrode at approximately twice this sub-harmonic frequency to achieve disciplined frequency and phase operation of the resonator. A nearly symmetric parametrically-disciplined inertial wave gyroscope that can oscillate in any transverse direction and has more than one bias electrostatic electrode that can be independently driven at twice its oscillation frequency at an amplitude and phase that disciplines its damping to zero in any vibration direction. In addition, operation of a parametrically-disciplined inertial wave gyroscope is taught in which the precession rate of the driven vibration pattern is digitally disciplined to a prescribed non-zero reference value.

Stable CW Single-Frequency Operation of Fabry-Perot Laser Diodes by Self-Injection Phase Locking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duerksen, Gary L.; Krainak, Michael A.

1999-01-01

Previously, single-frequency semiconductor laser operation using fiber Bragg gratings has been achieved by two methods: 1) use of the FBG as the output coupler for an anti-reflection-coated semiconductor gain element'; 2) pulsed operation of a gain-switched Fabry-Perot laser diode with FBG-optical and RF-electrical feedback. Here, we demonstrate CW single frequency operation from a non-AR coated Fabry-Perot laser diode using only FBG optical feedback. We coupled a nominal 935 run-wavelength Fabry-Perot laser diode to an ultra narrow band (18 pm) FBG. When tuned by varying its temperature, the laser wavelength is pulled toward the centerline of the Bragg grating, and the spectrum of the laser output is seen to fall into three discrete stability regimes as measured by the side-mode suppression ratio.

Gas spark switches with increased operating life for Marx generator of lightning test complex

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bykov, Yu. A.; Krastelev, E. G., E-mail: ekrastelev@yandex.ru

A new design of gas spark switches with an increased operating life and stable dynamic characteristics for the Marx generator of the lightning test complex has been developed. The switches are characterized by the following parameters in the mode of operation: voltage up to 80 kV, discharge current up to 50 kA, flowing charge up to 3.5 C/pulse. An increased operating life is achieved by using torus-shaped electrodes with increased working surface area and a trigger electrode in the form of a thick disk with a hole located between them. Low breakdown delay time and high stability of breakdown voltagemore » under dynamic conditions are provided by gas preionization in the spark gap using UV radiation of an additional corona discharge in the axial region.« less

A Consideration of Stable Operating Power Limits of HVDC System Composed of Voltage Source Converters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Konishi, Hiroo; Takahashi, Choei; Kishibe, Hideto; Sato, Hiromichi

The stable operating power limits of a small scale HVDC system composed of voltage source converters (VSC-HVDC system) are analyzed with a simple model. The VSC-HVDC system could operate where the AC system must be somewhat larger in capacity than the VSC-HVDC system capacity. The stable operating power limits were between one and two times the SCR (short circuit ratio). When the inverter of the VSC-HVDC system was operated with lead reactive (capacitive) power control conditions, the stable operating limits were increased through AC voltage stabilization. When the inverter was a STATCOM operation, it could operate regardless of the SCR but regions within allowable AC voltage variations.

Interfacial engineering of solution-processed Ni nanochain-SiO x (x< 2) cermets towards thermodynamically stable, anti-oxidation solar selective absorbers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yu, Xiaobai; Wang, Xiaoxin; Zhang, Qinglin

Here, cermet solar thermal selective absorber coatings are an important component of high-efficiency concentrated solar power (CSP) receivers. The oxidation of the metal nanoparticles in cermet solar absorbers is a great challenge for vacuum-free operation. Recently, we have demonstrated that oxidation is kinetically retarded in solution processed, high-optical-performance Ni nanochain-SiO x cermet system compared to conventional Ni-Al 2O 3 system when annealed in air at 450–600 °C for several hours. However, for long-term, high-temperature applications in CSP systems, thermodynamically stable antioxidation behavior is highly desirable, which requires new mechanisms beyond kinetically reducing the oxidation rate. Towards this goal, in thismore » paper, we demonstrate that pre-operation annealing of Ni nanochain-SiO x cermets at 900 °C in N 2 forms the thermodynamically stable orthorhombic phase of NiSi at the Ni/SiO x interfaces, leading to self-terminated oxidation at 550 °C in air due to this interfacial engineering. In contrast, pre-operation annealing at a lower temperature of 750 °C in N 2 (as conducted in our previous work) cannot achieve interfacial NiSi formation directly, and further annealing in air at 450–600 °C for >4 h only leads to the formation of the less stable (metastable) hexagonal phase of NiSi. Therefore, the high-temperature pre-operation annealing is critical to form the desirable orthorhombic phase of NiSi at Ni/SiO x interfaces towards thermodynamically stable antioxidation behavior. Remarkably, with this improved interfacial engineering, the oxidation of 80-nm-diameter Ni nanochain-SiO x saturates after annealing at 550 °C in air for 12 h. Additional annealing at 550 °C in air for as long as 20 h (i.e., 32 h air annealing at >550 °C in total) has almost no further impact on the structural or optical properties of the coatings, the latter being very sensitive to any interfacial changes due to the localized surface plasmon resonances of the metal nanostructures. This phenomenon holds true for Ni nanoparticle diameter down to 40 nm in Ni-SiO x system, where the optical response remains stable for 53 h at 550 °C in air. The oxidation vs. time curve also shows saturation behavior deviating from the kinetic Deal-Grove oxidation model. These results strongly suggest a promising approach to thermodynamically stable, anti-oxidation Ni/SiO x cermet absorbers via interfacial engineering.« less

Interfacial engineering of solution-processed Ni nanochain-SiO x (x< 2) cermets towards thermodynamically stable, anti-oxidation solar selective absorbers

DOE PAGES

Yu, Xiaobai; Wang, Xiaoxin; Zhang, Qinglin; ...

2016-04-01

Here, cermet solar thermal selective absorber coatings are an important component of high-efficiency concentrated solar power (CSP) receivers. The oxidation of the metal nanoparticles in cermet solar absorbers is a great challenge for vacuum-free operation. Recently, we have demonstrated that oxidation is kinetically retarded in solution processed, high-optical-performance Ni nanochain-SiO x cermet system compared to conventional Ni-Al 2O 3 system when annealed in air at 450–600 °C for several hours. However, for long-term, high-temperature applications in CSP systems, thermodynamically stable antioxidation behavior is highly desirable, which requires new mechanisms beyond kinetically reducing the oxidation rate. Towards this goal, in thismore » paper, we demonstrate that pre-operation annealing of Ni nanochain-SiO x cermets at 900 °C in N 2 forms the thermodynamically stable orthorhombic phase of NiSi at the Ni/SiO x interfaces, leading to self-terminated oxidation at 550 °C in air due to this interfacial engineering. In contrast, pre-operation annealing at a lower temperature of 750 °C in N 2 (as conducted in our previous work) cannot achieve interfacial NiSi formation directly, and further annealing in air at 450–600 °C for >4 h only leads to the formation of the less stable (metastable) hexagonal phase of NiSi. Therefore, the high-temperature pre-operation annealing is critical to form the desirable orthorhombic phase of NiSi at Ni/SiO x interfaces towards thermodynamically stable antioxidation behavior. Remarkably, with this improved interfacial engineering, the oxidation of 80-nm-diameter Ni nanochain-SiO x saturates after annealing at 550 °C in air for 12 h. Additional annealing at 550 °C in air for as long as 20 h (i.e., 32 h air annealing at >550 °C in total) has almost no further impact on the structural or optical properties of the coatings, the latter being very sensitive to any interfacial changes due to the localized surface plasmon resonances of the metal nanostructures. This phenomenon holds true for Ni nanoparticle diameter down to 40 nm in Ni-SiO x system, where the optical response remains stable for 53 h at 550 °C in air. The oxidation vs. time curve also shows saturation behavior deviating from the kinetic Deal-Grove oxidation model. These results strongly suggest a promising approach to thermodynamically stable, anti-oxidation Ni/SiO x cermet absorbers via interfacial engineering.« less

Ultra-fast 3D scanning and holographic illumination in non-linear microscopy using acousto-optic deflectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akemann, Walther; Ventalon, Cathie; Léger, Jean-François; Mathieu, Benjamin; Dieudonné, Stéphane; Blochet, Baptiste; Gigan, Sylvain; Bourdieu, Laurent

2017-04-01

Decoding of information in the brain requires the imaging of large neuronal networks using e.g. two-photon microscopy (TPM). Fast control of the focus in 3D can be achieved with phase shaping of the light beam using acoustooptic deflectors (AODs). However, beam shaping using AODs is not straightforward because of non-stationary of acousto-optic diffraction. Here, we demonstrated a new stable AOD-based phase modulator, which operates at a rate of up to about hundred kHz. It provides opportunity for 3D scanning in TPM with the possibility to correct aberrations independently for every focus position or to achieve refocusing of scattered photons in rapidly decorrelating tissues.

Enrichment of denitrifying methanotrophic bacteria from municipal wastewater sludge in a membrane bioreactor at 20°C.

PubMed

Kampman, Christel; Temmink, Hardy; Hendrickx, Tim L G; Zeeman, Grietje; Buisman, Cees J N

2014-06-15

Simultaneous nitrogen and methane removal by the slow growing denitrifying methanotrophic bacterium 'Candidatus Methylomirabilis oxyfera' offers opportunities for a new approach to wastewater treatment. However, volumetric nitrite consumption rates should be increased by an order of magnitude before application in wastewater treatment becomes possible. A maximum volumetric nitrite consumption rate of 36 mg NO2(-)-N/L d was achieved in a membrane bioreactor inoculated with wastewater sludge and operated at 20°C. This rate is similar to maximum rates reported in literature, though it was thought that by strict biomass retention using membranes, higher rates would be achieved. In experiments lasting several years, growth was not stable: every experiment showed a decrease in activity after 1-2 years. The cause remains unknown. Rates increased after addition of copper and operating a membrane bioreactor at shorter hydraulic retention times. Further research should focus on long-term effects of copper addition and operation at hydraulic retention times in the order of hours using membrane bioreactors. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Morphologic and Aerodynamic Considerations Regarding the Plumed Seeds of Tragopogon pratensis and Their Implications for Seed Dispersal.

PubMed

Casseau, Vincent; De Croon, Guido; Izzo, Dario; Pandolfi, Camilla

2015-01-01

Tragopogon pratensis is a small herbaceous plant that uses wind as the dispersal vector for its seeds. The seeds are attached to parachutes that increase the aerodynamic drag force and increase the total distance travelled. Our hypothesis is that evolution has carefully tuned the air permeability of the seeds to operate in the most convenient fluid dynamic regime. To achieve final permeability, the primary and secondary fibres of the pappus have evolved with complex weaving; this maximises the drag force (i.e., the drag coefficient), and the pappus operates in an "optimal" state. We used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to compute the seed drag coefficient and compare it with data obtained from drop experiments. The permeability of the parachute was estimated from microscope images. Our simulations reveal three flow regimes in which the parachute can operate according to its permeability. These flow regimes impact the stability of the parachute and its drag coefficient. From the permeability measurements and drop experiments, we show how the seeds operate very close to the optimal case. The porosity of the textile appears to be an appropriate solution to achieve a lightweight structure that allows a low terminal velocity, a stable flight and a very efficient parachute for the velocity at which it operates.

Morphologic and Aerodynamic Considerations Regarding the Plumed Seeds of Tragopogon pratensis and Their Implications for Seed Dispersal

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Tragopogon pratensis is a small herbaceous plant that uses wind as the dispersal vector for its seeds. The seeds are attached to parachutes that increase the aerodynamic drag force and increase the total distance travelled. Our hypothesis is that evolution has carefully tuned the air permeability of the seeds to operate in the most convenient fluid dynamic regime. To achieve final permeability, the primary and secondary fibres of the pappus have evolved with complex weaving; this maximises the drag force (i.e., the drag coefficient), and the pappus operates in an “optimal” state. We used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to compute the seed drag coefficient and compare it with data obtained from drop experiments. The permeability of the parachute was estimated from microscope images. Our simulations reveal three flow regimes in which the parachute can operate according to its permeability. These flow regimes impact the stability of the parachute and its drag coefficient. From the permeability measurements and drop experiments, we show how the seeds operate very close to the optimal case. The porosity of the textile appears to be an appropriate solution to achieve a lightweight structure that allows a low terminal velocity, a stable flight and a very efficient parachute for the velocity at which it operates. PMID:25938765

Fabrication and Optimization of Stable, Optically Transparent, and Reusable pH-Responsive Silk Membranes

PubMed Central

Toytziaridis, Andreas; Dicko, Cedric

2016-01-01

The fabrication of silk-based membranes that are stable, optically transparent and reusable is yet to be achieved. To address this bottleneck we have developed a method to produce transparent chromogenic silk patches that are optically responsive to pH. The patches were produced by blending regenerated silk fibroin (RSF), Laponite RD (nano clay) and the organic dyes neutral red and Thionine acetate. The Laponite RD played a central role in the patch mechanical integrity and prevention of dye leaching. The process was optimized using a factorial design to maximize the patch response to pH by UV absorbance and fluorescence emission. New patches of the optimized protocol, made from solutions containing 125 μM neutral red or 250 μM of Thionine and 15 mg/mL silk, were further tested for operational stability over several cycles of pH altering. Stability, performance, and reusability were achieved over the tested cycles. The approach could be extended to other reporting molecules or enzymes able to bind to Laponite. PMID:27854303

High-rate anaerobic co-digestion of kraft mill fibre sludge and activated sludge by CSTRs with sludge recirculation.

PubMed

Ekstrand, Eva-Maria; Karlsson, Marielle; Truong, Xu-Bin; Björn, Annika; Karlsson, Anna; Svensson, Bo H; Ejlertsson, Jörgen

2016-10-01

Kraft fibre sludge from the pulp and paper industry constitutes a new, widely available substrate for the biogas production industry, with high methane potential. In this study, anaerobic digestion of kraft fibre sludge was examined by applying continuously stirred tank reactors (CSTR) with sludge recirculation. Two lab-scale reactors (4L) were run for 800days, one on fibre sludge (R1), and the other on fibre sludge and activated sludge (R2). Additions of Mg, K and S stabilized reactor performance. Furthermore, the Ca:Mg ratio was important, and a stable process was achieved at a ratio below 16:1. Foaming was abated by short but frequent mixing. Co-digestion of fibre sludge and activated sludge resulted in more robust conditions, and high-rate operation at stable conditions was achieved at an organic loading rate of 4g volatile solids (VS)L(-1)day(-1), a hydraulic retention time of 4days and a methane production of 230±10NmL per g VS. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Fixation of osteoporotic fractures in the upper limb with a locking compression plate.

PubMed

Neuhaus, V; King, J D; Jupiter, J B

2012-01-01

Locking Compression Plate (LCP) has the advantageous feature that screws can be locked in the plate leaving an angular stable construct. There is no need to have contact between the plate and the bone to achieve stability resulting from friction of the plate-bone-construct. Therefore the plate does not need to be contoured exactly to the bone and the healing bone's periosteal blood supply is not affected. The LCP is used as a bridging plate to gain relative stability in multi-fragmentary, diaphyseal or metaphyseal fractures. Depending on the fracture, the combination hole can also allow the LCP to achieve absolute stability similar to conventional fixation techniques. Osteoporotic fractures have significant impact on morbidity and mortality. Proximal humeral and distal radius fractures are typical examples. These osteoporotic and often comminuted fractures are ideal settings/indications for LCP utilization in the upper extremity. However, the data quality is due to mostly small study populations not so powerful. Unquestionably there has been a clear and fashionable trend to choose operative treatment for these fractures, because the angular stability allows stable fixation and early functional mobilization.

Method and device for diagnosing and controlling combustion instabilities in internal combustion engines operating in or transitioning to homogeneous charge combustion ignition mode

DOEpatents

Wagner, Robert M [Knoxville, TN; Daw, Charles S [Knoxville, TN; Green, Johney B [Knoxville, TN; Edwards, Kevin D [Knoxville, TN

2008-10-07

This invention is a method of achieving stable, optimal mixtures of HCCI and SI in practical gasoline internal combustion engines comprising the steps of: characterizing the combustion process based on combustion process measurements, determining the ratio of conventional and HCCI combustion, determining the trajectory (sequence) of states for consecutive combustion processes, and determining subsequent combustion process modifications using said information to steer the engine combustion toward desired behavior.

Achieving Operational Flexibility Through Task Organization: How the American Forces in Europe Beat Nazi Germany by Making the Difficult Routine

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-23

system, they were refined and documented, but remained fundamentally stable for twenty-five years. This section will examine the origins ...consistent. Those items that shifted into other doctrinal manuals in the 1940s also remain recognizable from the original version. Field Manual 101-5...by the original tables of organization.185 It is clear that the key commander in making and supporting task organization changes was at the army

Stable Single-Mode Operation of Distributed Feedback Quantum Cascade Laser by Optimized Reflectivity Facet Coatings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Dong-Bo; Zhang, Jin-Chuan; Cheng, Feng-Min; Zhao, Yue; Zhuo, Ning; Zhai, Shen-Qiang; Wang, Li-Jun; Liu, Jun-Qi; Liu, Shu-Man; Liu, Feng-Qi; Wang, Zhan-Guo

2018-02-01

In this work, quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) based on strain compensation combined with two-phonon resonance design are presented. Distributed feedback (DFB) laser emitting at 4.76 μm was fabricated through a standard buried first-order grating and buried heterostructure (BH) processing. Stable single-mode emission is achieved under all injection currents and temperature conditions without any mode hop by the optimized antireflection (AR) coating on the front facet. The AR coating consists of a double layer dielectric of Al2O3 and Ge. For a 2-mm laser cavity, the maximum output power of the AR-coated DFB-QCL was more than 170 mW at 20 °C with a high wall-plug efficiency (WPE) of 4.7% in a continuous-wave (CW) mode.

"Application of Tunable Diode Laser Spectrometry to Isotopic Studies for Exobiology"

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sauke, Todd B.

1999-01-01

Computer-controlled electrically-activated valves for rapid gas-handling have been incorporated into the Stable Isotope Laser Spectrometer (SILS) which now permits rapid filling and evacuating of the sample and reference gas cells, Experimental protocols have been developed to take advantage of the fast gas handling capabilities of the instrument and to achieve increased accuracy which results from reduced instrumental drift during rapid isotopic ratio measurements. Using these protocols' accuracies of 0.5 del (0.05%) have been achieved in measurements of 13C/12C in carbon dioxide. Using the small stable isotope laser spectrometer developed in a related PIDDP project of the Co-I, protocols for acquisition of rapid sequential calibration spectra were developed which resulted in 0.5 del accuracy also being achieved in this less complex instrument. An initial version of software for automatic characterization of tunable diode lasers has been developed and diodes have been characterized in order to establish their spectral output properties. A new state-of-the-art high operating temperature (200 K) mid infrared diode laser was purchased (through NASA procurement) and characterized. A thermo-electrically cooled mid infrared tunable diode laser system for use with high temperature operation lasers was developed. In addition to isotopic ratio measurements of carbon and oxygen, measurements of a third biologically important element (15N/14N in N2O gas) have been achieved to a preliminary accuracy of about 0.2%. Transfer of the basic SILS technology to the commercial sector is proceeding under an unfunded Space Act Agreement between NASA and SpiraMed, a medical diagnostic instrument company. Two patents have been issued. Foreign patents based on these two US patents have been applied for and are expected to be issued. A preliminary design was developed for a thermo-electrically cooled SILS instruments for application to planetary space flight exploration missions.

Stable Water Oxidation in Acid Using Manganese-Modified TiO2 Protective Coatings.

PubMed

Siddiqi, Georges; Luo, Zhenya; Xie, Yujun; Pan, Zhenhua; Zhu, Qianhong; Röhr, Jason A; Cha, Judy J; Hu, Shu

2018-06-06

Accomplishing acid-stable water oxidation is a critical matter for achieving both long-lasting water-splitting devices and other fuel-forming electro- and photocatalytic processes. Because water oxidation releases protons into the local electrolytic environment, it becomes increasingly acidic during device operation, which leads to corrosion of the photoactive component and hence loss in device performance and lifetime. In this work, we show that thin films of manganese-modified titania, (Ti,Mn)O x , topped with an iridium catalyst, can be used in a coating stabilization scheme for acid-stable water oxidation. We achieved a device lifetime of more than 100 h in pH = 0 acid. We successfully grew (Ti,Mn)O x coatings with uniform elemental distributions over a wide range of manganese compositions using atomic layer deposition (ALD), and using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we show that (Ti,Mn)O x films grown in this manner give rise to closer-to-valence-band Fermi levels, which can be further tuned with annealing. In contrast to the normally n-type or intrinsic TiO 2 coatings, annealed (Ti,Mn)O x films can make direct charge transfer to a Fe(CN) 6 3-/4- redox couple dissolved in aqueous electrolytes. Using the Fe(CN) 6 3-/4- redox, we further demonstrated anodic charge transfer through the (Ti,Mn)O x films to high work function metals, such as iridium and gold, which is not previously possible with ALD-grown TiO 2 . We correlated changes in the crystallinity (amorphous to rutile TiO 2 ) and oxidation state (2+ to 3+) of the annealed (Ti,Mn)O x films to their hole conductivity and electrochemical stability in acid. Finally, by combining (Ti,Mn)O x coatings with iridium, an acid-stable water-oxidation anode, using acid-sensitive conductive fluorine-doped tin oxides, was achieved.

The quiescent H-mode regime for high performance edge localized mode-stable operation in future burning plasmas [The quiescent H-mode regime for high performance ELM-stable operation in future burning plasmas

DOE PAGES

Garofalo, Andrea M.; Burrell, Keith H.; Eldon, David; ...

2015-05-26

For the first time, DIII-D experiments have achieved stationary quiescent H-mode (QH-mode) operation for many energy confinement times at simultaneous ITER-relevant values of beta, confinement, and safety factor, in an ITER similar shape. QH-mode provides excellent energy confinement, even at very low plasma rotation, while operating without edge localized modes (ELMs) and with strong impurity transport via the benign edge harmonic oscillation (EHO). By tailoring the plasma shape to improve the edge stability, the QH-mode operating space has also been extended to densities exceeding 80% of the Greenwald limit, overcoming the long-standing low-density limit of QH-mode operation. In the theory,more » the density range over which the plasma encounters the kink-peeling boundary widens as the plasma cross-section shaping is increased, thus increasing the QH-mode density threshold. Here, the DIII-D results are in excellent agreement with these predictions, and nonlinear MHD analysis of reconstructed QH-mode equilibria shows unstable low n kink-peeling modes growing to a saturated level, consistent with the theoretical picture of the EHO. Furthermore, high density operation in the QH-mode regime has opened a path to a new, previously predicted region of parameter space, named “Super H-mode” because it is characterized by very high pedestals that can be more than a factor of two above the peeling-ballooning stability limit for similar ELMing H-mode discharges at the same density.« less

Stabilized Acoustic Levitation of Dense Materials Using a High-Powered Siren

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gammell, P. M.; Croonquist, A.; Wang, T. G.

1982-01-01

Stabilized acoustic levitation and manipulation of dense (e.g., steel) objects of 1 cm diameter, using a high powered siren, was demonstrated in trials that investigated the harmonic content and spatial distribution of the acoustic field, as well as the effect of sample position and reflector geometries on the acoustic field. Although further optimization is possible, the most stable operation achieved is expected to be adequate for most containerless processing applications. Best stability was obtained with an open reflector system, using a flat lower reflector and a slightly concave upper one. Operation slightly below resonance enhances stability as this minimizes the second harmonic, which is suspected of being a particularly destabilizing influence.

Polycrystalline silicon ion sensitive field effect transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, F.; Estrela, P.; Mo, Y.; Migliorato, P.; Maeda, H.; Inoue, S.; Shimoda, T.

2005-01-01

We report the operation of polycrystalline silicon ion sensitive field effect transistors. These devices can be fabricated on inexpensive disposable substrates such as glass or plastics and are, therefore, promising candidates for low cost single-use intelligent multisensors. In this work we have developed an extended gate structure with a Si3N4 sensing layer. Nearly ideal pH sensitivity (54mV /pH) and stable operation have been achieved. Temperature effects have been characterized. A penicillin sensor has been fabricated by functionalizing the sensing area with penicillinase. The sensitivity to penicillin G is about 10mV/mM, in solutions with concentration lower than the saturation value, which is about 7 mM.

Design and experiment on 2KF-15 type disc cutter and shallow fertilization machine in rubber plantation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Yiguo; Zhang, Yuan; Wang, Yeqin

2017-12-01

At present, the trenching and fertilization machine has a serious weed plug problem when trenching and fertilization operation in rubber plantation. So a disc cutter and shallow fertilization machine in rubber plantation named 2KF-15 was designed, the design scheme used the front disc cutter cutting the grass, while using the rear of the disc furrow to trenching, the prototype of a disc anti-plugging trenching and shallow fertilization machine was completed. Afterwards, a series of trenching and fertilization field experiments were carried out, and the results showed that the ditching depth of this machine could achieve from 131 to 176 mm, and the average depth could reach 156 mm, the ditching depth stability coefficient could achieve 90.3%; The fertilizer amount of this machine could achieve from 113.2 to 156.4 kg/hm2, the average fertilizer amount reach 134.2kg/hm2, the fertilizer amount stability coefficient could achieve 89.6%, the fertilizer broken rate was 0%, the fertilizer coverage rate of 98.4%;The situation of fertilizer accumulation occurred less by using this machine, and the fertilization performance was relatively stable. This new designed machine for trenching, fertilization and covering the soil were carried out at the same time. So the number of operations could be effectively reduced. This new designed machine does not only meet the agronomic requirements of rubber plantation fertilization, but also provides a reference for the trenching and fertilization operation in other.

Quantitative Investigation of Room-Temperature Breakdown Effects in Pixelated TlBr Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koehler, Will; He, Zhong; Thrall, Crystal; O'Neal, Sean; Kim, Hadong; Cirignano, Leonard; Shah, Kanai

2014-10-01

Due to favorable material properties such as high atomic number (Tl: 81, Br: 35), high density ( 7.56 g/cm3), and a wide band gap (2.68 eV), thallium-bromide (TlBr) is currently under investigation for use as an alternative room-temperature semiconductor gamma-ray spectrometer. TlBr detectors can achieve less than 1% FWHM energy resolution at 662 keV, but these results are limited to stable operation at - 20°C. After days to months of room-temperature operation, ionic conduction causes these devices to fail. This work correlates the varying leakage current with alpha-particle and gamma-ray spectroscopic performances at various operating temperatures. Depth-dependent photopeak centroids exhibit time-dependent transient behavior, which indicates trapping sites form near the anode surface during room-temperature operation. After refabrication, similar performance and functionality of failed detectors returned.

Disturbance-Adaptive Short-Term Frequency Support of a DFIG Associated With the Variable Gain Based on the ROCOF and Rotor Speed

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hwang, Min; Muljadi, Eduard; Jang, Gilsoo

This paper proposes a disturbance-adaptive short-term frequency support scheme of a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) that can improve the frequency-supporting capability while ensuring stable operation. In the proposed scheme, the output of the additional control loop is determined as the product of the frequency deviation and adaptive gain, which is modified depending on the rate of change of frequency (ROCOF) and rotor speed. To achieve these objectives, the adaptive gain is set to be high during the early stage of a disturbance, when the ROCOF and rotor speed are high. Until the frequency nadir (FN), the gain decreases withmore » the ROCOF and rotor speed. After the FN, the gain decreases only with the rotor speed. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme improves the FN and maximum ROCOF while ensuring the stable operation of a DFIG under various wind conditions irrespective of the disturbance conditions by adaptively changing the control gain with the ROCOF and rotor speed, even if the wind speed decreases and a consecutive disturbance occurs.« less

Upward and downward heat and mass transfer with miniature periodically operating loop thermosyphons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fantozzi, Fabio; Filippeschi, Sauro; Latrofa, Enrico Maria

2004-03-01

Upward and downward two-phase heat and mass transfer has been considered in the present paper. The heat and mass transfer with the condenser located below the evaporator has been obtained by inserting an accumulator tank in the liquid line of a loop thermosyphon and enforcing a pressure pulsation. In previous papers these heat transfer devices have been called pulsated two phase thermosyphons (PTPT). A mini PTPT has been experimentally investigated. It has shown a stable periodic heat transfer regime weakly influenced by the position of the condenser with respect to the evaporator. In contrast a classical loop mini thermosyphon (diameter of connecting pipes 4 mm) did not achieve a stable functioning for the investigated level differences between evaporator and condenser lower than 0.37 m. The present study shows that the functioning of a PTPT device does not directly depend on the level difference or the presence of noncondensable gas. In order to obtain a natural circulation in mini or micro loops, a periodically operating heat transfer regime should therefore be considered.

Thermoradiation therapy in combined modality treatment for locally advanced laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choynzonov, E. L.; Startseva, Zh. A.; Gribova, O. V.; Mukhamedov, M. R.; Spivakova, I. O.

2017-09-01

The article presents the results of combined modality treatment for stage III-IV (T3N0-2M0) laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers. All patients (55) were divided into 2 groups. Group I patients (n = 25) received pre-operative thermoradiation therapy and Group II patients (n = 30) received pre-operative radiation therapy alone. The follow-up period was 6-24 months. In Group I patients, partial tumor regression was achieved in 21 (84%) patients and stable disease was observed in 4 (16%) patients. In group II patients, partial tumor regression and stable disease were diagnosed in 18 (60%) and 12 (49%) patients, respectively. Local and regional recurrences occurred in 1 patient (4%) of Group I within the first year of follow-up and in 11 patients of Group II (7 within the first year and 4 within two years of follow-up). The 2-year overall survival rate was 100% in Group I patients and 76.7% ± 10.1% in Group II patients. Disease-free survival rates were 96.6 ± 3.5% and 63.3 ± 13.9%, respectively.

L-Band Transmit/Receive Module for Phase-Stable Array Antennas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Andricos, Constantine; Edelstein, Wendy; Krimskiy, Vladimir

2008-01-01

Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) has been shown to provide very sensitive measurements of surface deformation and displacement on the order of 1 cm. Future systematic measurements of surface deformation will require this capability over very large areas (300 km) from space. To achieve these required accuracies, these spaceborne sensors must exhibit low temporal decorrelation and be temporally stable systems. An L-band (24-cmwavelength) InSAR instrument using an electronically steerable radar antenna is suited to meet these needs. In order to achieve the 1-cm displacement accuracy, the phased array antenna requires phase-stable transmit/receive (T/R) modules. The T/R module operates at L-band (1.24 GHz) and has less than 1- deg absolute phase stability and less than 0.1-dB absolute amplitude stability over temperature. The T/R module is also high power (30 W) and power efficient (60-percent overall efficiency). The design is currently implemented using discrete components and surface mount technology. The basic T/R module architecture is augmented with a calibration loop to compensate for temperature variations, component variations, and path loss variations as a function of beam settings. The calibration circuit consists of an amplitude and phase detector, and other control circuitry, to compare the measured gain and phase to a reference signal and uses this signal to control a precision analog phase shifter and analog attenuator. An architecture was developed to allow for the module to be bidirectional, to operate in both transmit and receive mode. The architecture also includes a power detector used to maintain a transmitter power output constant within 0.1 dB. The use of a simple, stable, low-cost, and high-accuracy gain and phase detector made by Analog Devices (AD8302), combined with a very-high efficiency T/R module, is novel. While a self-calibrating T/R module capability has been sought for years, a practical and cost-effective solution has never been demonstrated. By adding the calibration loop to an existing high-efficiency T/R module, there is a demonstrated order-of-magnitude improvement in the amplitude and phase stability.

Defective TiO 2 with high photoconductive gain for efficient and stable planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells

DOE PAGES

Li, Yanbo; Cooper, Jason K.; Liu, Wenjun; ...

2016-08-18

Formation of planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells exhibiting both high efficiency and stability under continuous operation remains a challenge. Here, we show this can be achieved by using a defective TiO 2 thin film as the electron transport layer. TiO 2 layers with native defects are deposited by electron beam evaporation in an oxygen-deficient environment. Deep-level hole traps are introduced in the TiO 2 layers and contribute to a high photoconductive gain and reduced photocatalytic activity. The high photoconductivity of the TiO 2 electron transport layer leads to improved efficiency for the fabricated planar devices. A maximum power conversion efficiencymore » of 19.0% and an average PCE of 17.5% are achieved. In addition, the reduced photocatalytic activity of the TiO 2 layer leads to enhanced long-Term stability for the planar devices. Under continuous operation near the maximum power point, an efficiency of over 15.4% is demonstrated for 100 h.« less

Clinical study on the arthroscopic refreshing treatment of anterior cruciate ligament injury combined with stable medial meniscus ramp injury

PubMed Central

Yang, J.; Guan, K.; Wang, J.Z.

2017-01-01

This study sought to investigate the clinical efficacy of arthroscopic refreshing treatment of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury combined with stable medial meniscus ramp injury. Sixty-eight patients treated between January 2010 and January 2014 were included, and their clinical data were retrospectively analyzed. All patients, after being treated using ACL reconstruction, were divided into 2 groups according to meniscus injury treatment method. The observation group (31 cases) was treated by arthroscopic refreshing, which removed the tissue on both sides of the tear edge using a cutting knife, while the control group (37 cases) was treated using Fast-fix sutures. All patients were followed up for at least 24 months. Surgical duration, postoperative function recovery time, and hospital stay for patients in the observation group were significantly shorter than for those of the control group (P<0.05). Both groups showed significant post-operative improvement for Lysholm scores, IKDC scores, and average knee range of motion at 12 and 24 months post-operation (P<0.05), but no significant differences between groups were observed (P>0.05). Regarding the difference in movement range between the healthy and injured sides, both groups showed significant decrease post-operation (P<0.05). Ultimately, there was no significant difference in the recovery of ramp damage and objective symptoms between the two groups (P>0.05). Arthroscopic refreshing treatment of patients with anterior cruciate ligament injury combined with stable ramp lesion can achieve similar clinical curative effects as the Fast-fix suture, thereby providing a simple alternative for patient treatment worth popularizing. PMID:28574418

Light-Duty Drive Cycle Simulations of Diesel Engine-Out Exhaust Properties for an RCCI-Enabled Vehicle

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gao, Zhiming; Curran, Scott; Daw, C Stuart

2013-01-01

In-cylinder blending of gasoline and diesel fuels to achieve low-temperature reactivity controlled compression ignition (RCCI) can reduce NOx and PM emissions while maintaining or improving brake thermal efficiency compared to conventional diesel combustion (CDC). Moreover, the dual-fueling RCCI is able to achieve these benefits by tailoring combustion reactivity over a wider range of engine operation than is possible with a single fuel. However, the currently demonstrated range of stable RCCI combustion just covers a portion of the engine speed-load range required in several light-duty drive cycles. This means that engines must switch from RCCI to CDC when speed and loadmore » fall outside of the stable RCCI range. In this study we investigated the impact of RCCI as it has recently been demonstrated on practical engine-out exhaust temperature and emissions by simulating a multi-mode RCCI-enabled vehicle operating over two urban and two highway driving cycles. To implement our simulations, we employed experimental engine maps for a multi-mode RCCI/CDC engine combined with a standard mid-size, automatic transmission, passenger vehicle in the Autonomie vehicle simulation platform. Our results include both detailed transient and cycle-averaged engine exhaust temperature and emissions for each case, and we note the potential implications of the modified exhaust properties on catalytic emissions control and utilization of waste heat recovery on future RCCI-enabled vehicles.« less

Elastomeric Microchip Electrospray Emitter for Stable Cone-Jet Mode Operation in the Nano-Flow Regime

PubMed Central

Kelly, Ryan T.; Tang, Keqi; Irimia, Daniel; Toner, Mehmet; Smith, Richard D.

2009-01-01

Despite widespread interest in combining lab-on-a-chip technologies with mass spectrometry (MS)-based analyses, the coupling of microfluidics to electrospray ionization (ESI)-MS remains challenging. We report a robust, integrated poly(dimethylsiloxane) microchip interface for ESI-MS using simple and widely accessible microfabrication procedures. The interface uses an auxiliary channel to provide electrical contact for the stable cone-jet electrospray without sample loss or dilution. The electric field at the channel terminus is enhanced by two vertical cuts that cause the interface to taper to a line rather than to a point, and the formation of a small Taylor cone at the channel exit ensures sub-nL post-column dead volumes. Cone-jet mode electrospray was demonstrated for up to 90% aqueous solutions and for extended durations. Comparable ESI-MS sensitivities were achieved using both microchip and conventional fused silica capillary emitters, but stable cone-jet mode electrosprays could be established over a far broader range of flow rates (from 50-1000 nL/min) and applied potentials using the microchip emitters. This attribute of the microchip emitter should simplify electrospray optimization and make the stable electrospray more resistant to external perturbations. PMID:18419138

Titanium Disulfide Coated Carbon Nanotube Hybrid Electrodes Enable High Energy Density Symmetric Pseudocapacitors.

PubMed

Zang, Xining; Shen, Caiwei; Kao, Emmeline; Warren, Roseanne; Zhang, Ruopeng; Teh, Kwok Siong; Zhong, Junwen; Wei, Minsong; Li, Buxuan; Chu, Yao; Sanghadasa, Mohan; Schwartzberg, Adam; Lin, Liwei

2018-02-01

While electrochemical supercapacitors often show high power density and long operation lifetimes, they are plagued by limited energy density. Pseudocapacitive materials, in contrast, operate by fast surface redox reactions and are shown to enhance energy storage of supercapacitors. Furthermore, several reported systems exhibit high capacitance but restricted electrochemical voltage windows, usually no more than 1 V in aqueous electrolytes. Here, it is demonstrated that vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) with uniformly coated, pseudocapacitive titanium disulfide (TiS 2 ) composite electrodes can extend the stable working range to over 3 V to achieve a high capacitance of 195 F g -1 in an Li-rich electrolyte. A symmetric cell demonstrates an energy density of 60.9 Wh kg -1 -the highest among symmetric pseudocapacitors using metal oxides, conducting polymers, 2D transition metal carbides (MXene), and other transition metal dichalcogenides. Nanostructures prepared by an atomic layer deposition/sulfurization process facilitate ion transportation and surface reactions to result in a high power density of 1250 W kg -1 with stable operation over 10 000 cycles. A flexible solid-state supercapacitor prepared by transferring the TiS 2 -VACNT composite film onto Kapton tape is demonstrated to power a 2.2 V light emitting diode (LED) for 1 min. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Networking for large-scale science: infrastructure, provisioning, transport and application mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rao, Nageswara S.; Carter, Steven M.; Wu, Qishi; Wing, William R.; Zhu, Mengxia; Mezzacappa, Anthony; Veeraraghavan, Malathi; Blondin, John M.

2005-01-01

Large-scale science computations and experiments require unprecedented network capabilities in the form of large bandwidth and dynamically stable connections to support data transfers, interactive visualizations, and monitoring and steering operations. A number of component technologies dealing with the infrastructure, provisioning, transport and application mappings must be developed and/or optimized to achieve these capabilities. We present a brief account of the following technologies that contribute toward achieving these network capabilities: (a) DOE UltraScienceNet and NSF CHEETAH network testbeds that provide on-demand and scheduled dedicated network connections; (b) experimental results on transport protocols that achieve close to 100% utilization on dedicated 1Gbps wide-area channels; (c) a scheme for optimally mapping a visualization pipeline onto a network to minimize the end-to-end delays; and (d) interconnect configuration and protocols that provides multiple Gbps flows from Cray X1 to external hosts.

Real-Time Minimization of Tracking Error for Aircraft Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garud, Sumedha; Kaneshige, John T.; Krishnakumar, Kalmanje S.; Kulkarni, Nilesh V.; Burken, John

2013-01-01

This technology presents a novel, stable, discrete-time adaptive law for flight control in a Direct adaptive control (DAC) framework. Where errors are not present, the original control design has been tuned for optimal performance. Adaptive control works towards achieving nominal performance whenever the design has modeling uncertainties/errors or when the vehicle suffers substantial flight configuration change. The baseline controller uses dynamic inversion with proportional-integral augmentation. On-line adaptation of this control law is achieved by providing a parameterized augmentation signal to a dynamic inversion block. The parameters of this augmentation signal are updated to achieve the nominal desired error dynamics. If the system senses that at least one aircraft component is experiencing an excursion and the return of this component value toward its reference value is not proceeding according to the expected controller characteristics, then the neural network (NN) modeling of aircraft operation may be changed.

Control of Dual-Opposed Stirling Convertors with Active Power Factor Correction Controllers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Regan, Timothy F.; Lewandowski, Edward J.; Schreiber, Jeffrey G.

2007-01-01

When using recently-developed active power factor correction (APFC) controllers in power systems comprised of dual-opposed free-piston Stirling convertors, a variety of configurations of the convertors and controller(s) can be considered, with configuration ultimately selected based on benefits of efficiency, reliability, and robust operation. The configuration must not only achieve stable control of the two convertors, but also synchronize and regulate motion of the pistons to minimize net dynamic forces. The NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) System Dynamic Model (SDM) was used to study ten configurations of dual-opposed convertor systems. These configurations considered one controller with the alternators connected in series or in parallel, and two controllers with the alternators not connected (isolated). For the configurations where the alternators were not connected, several different approaches were evaluated to synchronize the two convertors. In addition, two thermodynamic configurations were considered: two convertors with isolated working spaces and convertors with a shared expansion space. Of the ten configurations studied, stable operating modes were found for four. Three of those four had a common expansion space. One stable configuration was found for the dual-opposed convertors with separate working spaces. That configuration required isochronous control of both convertors, and two APFC controllers were used to accomplish this. A frequency/phase control loop was necessary to allow each APFC controller to synchronize its associated convertor with a common frequency.

Control of Dual-Opposed Stirling Convertors with Active Power Factor Correction Controllers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Regan, Timothy F.; Lewandowski, Edward J.; Schreiber, Jeffrey G.

2006-01-01

When using recently-developed active power factor correction (APFC) controllers in power systems comprised of dual-opposed free-piston Stirling convertors, a variety of configurations of the convertors and controller(s) can be considered, with configuration ultimately selected based on benefits of efficiency, reliability, and robust operation. The configuration must not only achieve stable control of the two convertors, but also synchronize and regulate motion of the pistons to minimize net dynamic forces. The NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) System Dynamic Model (SDM) was used to study ten configurations of dual-opposed convertor systems. These configurations considered one controller with the alternators connected in series or in parallel, and two controllers with the alternators not connected (isolated). For the configurations where the alternators were not connected, several different approaches were evaluated to synchronize the two convertors. In addition, two thermodynamic configurations were considered: two convertors with isolated working spaces and convertors with a shared expansion space. Of the ten configurations studied, stable operating modes were found for four. Three of those four had a common expansion space. One stable configuration was found for the dual-opposed convertors with separate working spaces. That configuration required isochronous control of both convertors, and two APFC controllers were used to accomplish this. A frequency/phase control loop was necessary to allow each APFC controller to synchronize its associated convertor with a common frequency.

Gigabit free-space multi-level signal transmission with a mid-infrared quantum cascade laser operating at room temperature.

PubMed

Pang, Xiaodan; Ozolins, Oskars; Schatz, Richard; Storck, Joakim; Udalcovs, Aleksejs; Navarro, Jaime Rodrigo; Kakkar, Aditya; Maisons, Gregory; Carras, Mathieu; Jacobsen, Gunnar; Popov, Sergei; Lourdudoss, Sebastian

2017-09-15

Gigabit free-space transmissions are experimentally demonstrated with a quantum cascaded laser (QCL) emitting at mid-wavelength infrared of 4.65 μm, and a commercial infrared photovoltaic detector. The QCL operating at room temperature is directly modulated using on-off keying and, for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, four- and eight-level pulse amplitude modulations (PAM-4, PAM-8). By applying pre- and post-digital equalizations, we achieve up to 3  Gbit/s line data rate in all three modulation configurations with a bit error rate performance of below the 7% overhead hard decision forward error correction limit of 3.8×10 -3 . The proposed transmission link also shows a stable operational performance in the lab environment.

Low-voltage operating flexible ferroelectric organic field-effect transistor nonvolatile memory with a vertical phase separation P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE)/PS dielectric

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Meili; Xiang, Lanyi; Xu, Ting; Wang, Wei; Xie, Wenfa; Zhou, Dayu

2017-10-01

Future flexible electronic systems require memory devices combining low-power operation and mechanical bendability. However, high programming/erasing voltages, which are universally needed to switch the storage states in previously reported ferroelectric organic field-effect transistor (Fe-OFET) nonvolatile memories (NVMs), severely prevent their practical applications. In this work, we develop a route to achieve a low-voltage operating flexible Fe-OFET NVM. Utilizing vertical phase separation, an ultrathin self-organized poly(styrene) (PS) buffering layer covers the surface of the ferroelectric polymer layer by one-step spin-coating from their blending solution. The ferroelectric polymer with a low coercive field contributes to low-voltage operation in the Fe-OFET NVM. The polymer PS contributes to the improvement of mobility, attributing to screening the charge scattering and decreasing the surface roughness. As a result, a high performance flexible Fe-OFET NVM is achieved at the low P/E voltages of ±10 V, with a mobility larger than 0.2 cm2 V-1 s-1, a reliable P/E endurance over 150 cycles, stable data storage retention capability over 104 s, and excellent mechanical bending durability with a slight performance degradation after 1000 repetitive tensile bending cycles at a curvature radius of 5.5 mm.

Achieving high mobility, low-voltage operating organic field-effect transistor nonvolatile memory by an ultraviolet-ozone treating ferroelectric terpolymer

PubMed Central

Xiang, Lanyi; Wang, Wei; Xie, Wenfa

2016-01-01

Poly(vinylidene fluoride–trifluoroethylene) has been widely used as a dielectric of the ferroelectric organic field-effect transistor (FE-OFET) nonvolatile memory (NVM). Some critical issues, including low mobility and high operation voltage, existed in these FE-OFET NVMs, should be resolved before considering to their commercial application. In this paper, we demonstrated low-voltage operating FE-OFET NVMs based on a ferroelectric terpolymer poly(vinylidene-fluoride-trifluoroethylene-chlorotrifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE)] owed to its low coercive field. By applying an ultraviolet-ozone (UVO) treatment to modify the surface of P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) films, the growth model of the pentacene film was changed, which improved the pentacene grain size and the interface morphology of the pentacene/P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE). Thus, the mobility of the FE-OFET was significantly improved. As a result, a high performance FE-OFET NVM, with a high mobility of 0.8 cm2 V−1 s−1, large memory window of 15.4~19.2, good memory on/off ratio of 103, the reliable memory endurance over 100 cycles and stable memory retention ability, was achieved at a low operation voltage of ±15 V. PMID:27824101

High-Order Entropy Stable Formulations for Computational Fluid Dynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carpenter, Mark H.; Fisher, Travis C.

2013-01-01

A systematic approach is presented for developing entropy stable (SS) formulations of any order for the Navier-Stokes equations. These SS formulations discretely conserve mass, momentum, energy and satisfy a mathematical entropy inequality. They are valid for smooth as well as discontinuous flows provided sufficient dissipation is added at shocks and discontinuities. Entropy stable formulations exist for all diagonal norm, summation-by-parts (SBP) operators, including all centered finite-difference operators, Legendre collocation finite-element operators, and certain finite-volume operators. Examples are presented using various entropy stable formulations that demonstrate the current state-of-the-art of these schemes.

Main Design Principles of the Cold Beam Pipe in the FastRamped Superconducting Accelerator Magnets for Heavy Ion Synchrotron SIS100

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mierau, A.; Schnizer, P.; Fischer, E.; Macavei, J.; Wilfert, S.; Koch, S.; Weiland, T.; Kurnishov, R.; Shcherbakov, P.

SIS100, the world second large scale heavy ion synchrotron using fast ramped superconducting magnets, is to be built at FAIR. Its high current operation of intermediate charge state ions requires stable vacuum pressures < 10-12 mbar under dynamic machine conditions which are only achievable when the whole beam pipe is used as an huge cryopump. In order to find technological feasible design solutions, three opposite requirements have to be met: minimum magnetic field distortion caused by AC losses, mechanical stability and low and stable wall temperatures of the beam pipe. We present the possible design versions of the beam pipe for the high current curved dipole. The pros and cons of these proposed designs were studied using simplified analytical models, FEM calculations and tests on models.

Stable Single-Mode Operation of Distributed Feedback Quantum Cascade Laser by Optimized Reflectivity Facet Coatings.

PubMed

Wang, Dong-Bo; Zhang, Jin-Chuan; Cheng, Feng-Min; Zhao, Yue; Zhuo, Ning; Zhai, Shen-Qiang; Wang, Li-Jun; Liu, Jun-Qi; Liu, Shu-Man; Liu, Feng-Qi; Wang, Zhan-Guo

2018-02-02

In this work, quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) based on strain compensation combined with two-phonon resonance design are presented. Distributed feedback (DFB) laser emitting at ~ 4.76 μm was fabricated through a standard buried first-order grating and buried heterostructure (BH) processing. Stable single-mode emission is achieved under all injection currents and temperature conditions without any mode hop by the optimized antireflection (AR) coating on the front facet. The AR coating consists of a double layer dielectric of Al 2 O 3 and Ge. For a 2-mm laser cavity, the maximum output power of the AR-coated DFB-QCL was more than 170 mW at 20 °C with a high wall-plug efficiency (WPE) of 4.7% in a continuous-wave (CW) mode.

Interfacial engineering of solution-processed Ni nanochain-SiO{sub x} (x < 2) cermets towards thermodynamically stable, anti-oxidation solar selective absorbers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yu, Xiaobai; Wang, Xiaoxin; Liu, Jifeng, E-mail: Jifeng.Liu@dartmouth.edu

Cermet solar thermal selective absorber coatings are an important component of high-efficiency concentrated solar power (CSP) receivers. The oxidation of the metal nanoparticles in cermet solar absorbers is a great challenge for vacuum-free operation. Recently, we have demonstrated that oxidation is kinetically retarded in solution processed, high-optical-performance Ni nanochain-SiO{sub x} cermet system compared to conventional Ni-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} system when annealed in air at 450–600 °C for several hours. However, for long-term, high-temperature applications in CSP systems, thermodynamically stable antioxidation behavior is highly desirable, which requires new mechanisms beyond kinetically reducing the oxidation rate. Towards this goal, in this paper, wemore » demonstrate that pre-operation annealing of Ni nanochain-SiO{sub x} cermets at 900 °C in N{sub 2} forms the thermodynamically stable orthorhombic phase of NiSi at the Ni/SiO{sub x} interfaces, leading to self-terminated oxidation at 550 °C in air due to this interfacial engineering. In contrast, pre-operation annealing at a lower temperature of 750 °C in N{sub 2} (as conducted in our previous work) cannot achieve interfacial NiSi formation directly, and further annealing in air at 450–600 °C for >4 h only leads to the formation of the less stable (metastable) hexagonal phase of NiSi. Therefore, the high-temperature pre-operation annealing is critical to form the desirable orthorhombic phase of NiSi at Ni/SiO{sub x} interfaces towards thermodynamically stable antioxidation behavior. Remarkably, with this improved interfacial engineering, the oxidation of 80-nm-diameter Ni nanochain-SiO{sub x} saturates after annealing at 550 °C in air for 12 h. Additional annealing at 550 °C in air for as long as 20 h (i.e., 32 h air annealing at >550 °C in total) has almost no further impact on the structural or optical properties of the coatings, the latter being very sensitive to any interfacial changes due to the localized surface plasmon resonances of the metal nanostructures. This phenomenon holds true for Ni nanoparticle diameter down to 40 nm in Ni-SiO{sub x} system, where the optical response remains stable for 53 h at 550 °C in air. The oxidation vs. time curve also shows saturation behavior deviating from the kinetic Deal-Grove oxidation model. These results strongly suggest a promising approach to thermodynamically stable, anti-oxidation Ni/SiO{sub x} cermet absorbers via interfacial engineering.« less

Experimental design, operation, and results of a 4 kW high temperature steam electrolysis experiment

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Xiaoyu; O'Brien, James E.; Tao, Greg; ...

2015-08-06

High temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE) is a promising technology for large-scale hydrogen production. However, research on HTSE performance above the kW level is limited. This paper presents the results of 4 kW HTSE long-term test completed in a multi-kW test facility recently developed at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The 4 kW HTSE unit included two solid oxide electrolysis stacks operating in parallel, each of which included 40 electrode-supported planar cells. A current density of 0.41 A/cm2 was used for the long-term operation, resulting in a hydrogen production rate about 25 slpm. A demonstration of 920 hours stable operation wasmore » achieved. The paper also includes detailed descriptions of the piping layout, steam generation and delivery system, test fixture, heat recuperation system, hot zone, instrumentation, and operating conditions. As a result, this successful demonstration of multi-kW scale HTSE unit will help to advance the technology toward near-term commercialization.« less

Thorium Fuel Utilization Analysis on Small Long Life Reactor for Different Coolant Types

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Permana, Sidik

2017-07-01

A small power reactor and long operation which can be deployed for less population and remote area has been proposed by the IAEA as a small and medium reactor (SMR) program. Beside uranium utilization, it can be used also thorium fuel resources for SMR as a part of optimalization of nuclear fuel as a “partner” fuel with uranium fuel. A small long-life reactor based on thorium fuel cycle for several reactor coolant types and several power output has been evaluated in the present study for 10 years period of reactor operation. Several key parameters are used to evaluate its effect to the reactor performances such as reactor criticality, excess reactivity, reactor burnup achievement and power density profile. Water-cooled types give higher criticality than liquid metal coolants. Liquid metal coolant for fast reactor system gives less criticality especially at beginning of cycle (BOC), which shows liquid metal coolant system obtains almost stable criticality condition. Liquid metal coolants are relatively less excess reactivity to maintain longer reactor operation than water coolants. In addition, liquid metal coolant gives higher achievable burnup than water coolant types as well as higher power density for liquid metal coolants.

ARIEL E-linac Cryogenic System: Commissioning and First Operational Experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koveshnikov, A.; Bylinskii, I.; Hodgson, G.; Kishi, D.; Laxdal, R.; Ma, Y.; Nagimov, R.; Yosifov, D.

2015-12-01

The Advanced Rare IsotopE Laboratory (ARIEL) is a major expansion of the Isotope Separator and Accelerator (ISAC) facility at TRIUMF. A key part of the ARIEL project is a 10 mA 50 MeV continuous-wave superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) electron linear accelerator (e-linac). The 1.3 GHz SRF cavities are operated at 2 K. HELIAL LL helium liquefier by Air Liquide Advanced Technologies (ALAT) with a tuneable liquid helium (LHe) production was installed and commissioned in Q4’2013 [1]. It provides 4 K liquid helium to one injector and one accelerator cryomodules that were installed and tested in 2014. The 4 K to 2 K liquid helium transition is achieved on-board of each cryomodule. The cryoplant, LHe and LN2 distributions, sub-atmospheric (S/A) system and cryomodules were successfully commissioned and integrated into the e-linac cryogenic system. Required pressure regulation for both 4 K cryoplant in the Dewar and 2 K with the S/A system was achieved under simulated load. Final integration tests confirmed overall stable performance of the cryogenic system with two cryomodules installed. The paper presents details of the cryogenic system commissioning tests as well as highlights of the initial operational experience.

Tunable single frequency fiber laser based on FP-LD injection locking.

PubMed

Zhang, Aiqin; Feng, Xinhuan; Wan, Minggui; Li, Zhaohui; Guan, Bai-ou

2013-05-20

We propose and demonstrate a tunable single frequency fiber laser based on Fabry Pérot laser diode (FP-LD) injection locking. The single frequency operation principle is based on the fact that the output from a FP-LD injection locked by a multi-longitudinal-mode (MLM) light can have fewer longitudinal-modes number and narrower linewidth. By inserting a FP-LD in a fiber ring laser cavity, single frequency operation can be possibly achieved when stable laser oscillation established after many roundtrips through the FP-LD. Wavelength switchable single frequency lasing can be achieved by adjusting the tunable optical filter (TOF) in the cavity to coincide with different mode of the FP-LD. By adjustment of the drive current of the FP-LD, the lasing modes would shift and wavelength tunable operation can be obtained. In experiment, a wavelength tunable range of 32.4 nm has been obtained by adjustment of the drive current of the FP-LD and a tunable filter in the ring cavity. Each wavelength has a side-mode suppression ratio (SMSR) of at least 41 dB and a linewidth of about 13 kHz.

Anammox-zeolite system acting as buffer to achieve stable effluent nitrogen values.

PubMed

Yapsakli, Kozet; Aktan, Cigdem Kalkan; Mertoglu, Bulent

2017-02-01

For a successful nitrogen removal, Anammox process needs to be established in line with a stable partial nitritation pretreatment unit since wastewater influent is mostly unsuitable for direct treatment by Anammox. Partial nitritation is, however, a critical bottleneck for the nitrogen removal since it is often difficult to maintain the right proportions of NO 2 -N and NH 4 -N during long periods of time for Anammox process. This study investigated the potential of Anammox-zeolite biofilter to buffer inequalities in nitrite and ammonium nitrogen in the influent feed. Anammox-zeolite biofilter combines the ion-exchange property of zeolite with the biological removal by Anammox process. Continuous-flow biofilter was operated for 570 days to test the response of Anammox-zeolite system for irregular ammonium and nitrite nitrogen entries. The reactor demonstrated stable and high nitrogen removal efficiencies (approximately 95 %) even when the influent NO 2 -N to NH 4 -N ratios were far from the stoichiometric ratio for Anammox reaction (i.e. NO 2 -N to NH 4 -N ranging from 0 to infinity). This is achieved by the sorption of surplus NH 4 -N by zeolite particles in case ammonium rich influent came in excess with respect to Anammox stoichiometry. Similarly, when ammonium-poor influent is fed to the reactor, ammonium desorption took place due to shifts in ion-exchange equilibrium and deficient amount were supplied by previously sorbed NH 4 -N. Here, zeolite acted as a preserving reservoir of ammonium where both sorption and desorption took place when needed and this caused the Anammox-zeolite system to act as a buffer system to generate a stable effluent.

Design and Realization of Silhouette Operation Platform Based on GIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Jia; Cui, Xinqiang; Yuan, Zhengteng

2018-01-01

Artificial weather effects after several generations of unremitting efforts in many provinces, municipalities and districts have become a regular business to serve the community. In the actual operation of the actual impact of weather operations, onsite job terminal system functional integration is not high, such as the operation process cumbersome operation instructions unreasonable, the weather data lag, the data form of a single factor and other factors seriously affect the weather conditions, Sexual and intuitive improvement. Therefore, this paper adopts the Android system as the carrier for the design and implementation of the silhouette intelligent terminal system. The intelligent terminal system has carried on the preliminary deployment trial in the real-time intelligent command system which realizes the weather operation in a province, and has formed a centralized, unified and digital artificial influence in combination with the self-developed multi-function server system platform and the remote centre command system Weather operation communication network, to achieve intelligent terminal and remote centre commander between the efficient, timely and stable information exchange, improve the shadow of the economic and social benefits, basically reached the initial design purpose.

Metric-wave and decimetric-wave aperture synthesis systems (review)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ilyasov, Y. P.

1984-09-01

Aperture synthesis systems using metric or decimetric waves are adequate and promising for astrophysical study of extragalactic radioemission sources, operation with metric waves being characterized by destabilizing effects of the ionosphere and thus requiring special methods of data processing. Methods of closure phase and closure amplitude were proposed and then successfully implemented in very-large-baseline radiotelescope and multi-element interferometers, respectively. Several radiotelescopes were developed which operate in the supersynthesis mode, with rotation of the Earth used for filling the space-frequency plane. Further achievements include the Swarup system (Uti/INDIA) with phase-stable interferometer, the Jodrell Bank system (Manchester/UK), the Palmer Merlin multielement system (UK) with CLEAN procedure and CORTEL telescope correction algorithm, the VLA system (USA), and the international giant equatorial radiotelescope.

Stressed photoconductive detector for far-infrared space applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, J.-Q.; Richards, P. L.; Beeman, J. W.; Haller, E. E.

1987-01-01

An optimized leaf-spring apparatus for applying uniaxial stress to a Ge:Ga far-IR photoconductor has been designed and tested. This design has significant advantages for space applications which require high quantum efficiency and stable operation over long periods of time. The important features include adequate spring deflection with relatively small overall size, torque-free stress, easy measurement of applied stress, and a detector configuration with high responsivity. One-dimensional arrays of stressed photoconductors can be constructed using this design. A peak responsivity of 38 A/W is achieved in a detector with a cutoff wavelength of 200 microns, which was operated at a temperature of 2.0 K and a bias voltage equal to one-half of the breakdown voltage.

Effectiveness of paper-structured catalyst for the operation of biodiesel-fueled solid oxide fuel cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quang-Tuyen, Tran; Kaida, Taku; Sakamoto, Mio; Sasaki, Kazunari; Shiratori, Yusuke

2015-06-01

Mg/Al-hydrotalcite (HDT)-dispersed paper-structured catalyst (PSC) was prepared by a simple paper-making process. The PSC exhibited excellent catalytic activity for the steam reforming of model biodiesel fuel (BDF), pure oleic acid methyl ester (oleic-FAME, C19H36O2) which is a mono-unsaturated component of practical BDFs. The PSC exhibited fuel conversion comparable to a pelletized catalyst material, here, conventional Ni-zirconia cermet anode for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with less than one-hundredth Ni weight. Performance of electrolyte-supported cell connected with the PSC was evaluated in the feed of oleic-FAME, and stable operation was achieved. After 60 h test, coking was not observed in both SOFC anode and PSC.

Operating characteristics of HTS power supply for and improving temporal stability of coated conductor magnet in liquid helium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, D. K.; Kim, Y. J.; Yang, S. E.; Kwon, N. Y.; Lee, H. G.; Ko, T. K.

2009-10-01

High temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets have been studied for insert coils of high field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) magnets but the temporal stability required for NMR is hard to achieve due to low index value and high joint resistance. In this research, the HTS power supply with magnets using coated conductor (CC) was investigated and tested in helium cryogenic system. All joints were conducted by soldering after etching stabilizer of the CC to minimize joint resistance. The pumping rate was determined by current amplitude and timing sequential control of heaters and the electromagnet. Operating characteristics were analyzed to enhance charging efficiency and the feasibility of temporally stable CC magnet during persistent mode was studied.

Switchable and spacing-tunable dual-wavelength thulium-doped silica fiber laser based on a nonlinear amplifier loop mirror.

PubMed

Liu, Shuo; Yan, Fengping; Feng, Ting; Wu, Beilei; Dong, Ze; Chang, Gee-Kung

2014-08-20

A kind of switchable and spacing-tunable dual-wavelength thulium-doped silica fiber laser based on a nonlinear amplifier loop mirror is presented and experimentally demonstrated. By adjusting the polarization controllers (PCs), stable dual-wavelength operation is obtained at the 2 μm band. The optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) is better than 56 dB. The wavelength tuning is performed by applying static strain into the fiber Bragg grating. A tuning range from 0 to 5.14 nm is achieved for the dual-wavelength spacing. By adjusting the PCs properly, the fiber laser can also operate in single-wavelength state with the OSNR for each wavelength more than 50 dB.

Compactly packaged monolithic four-wavelength VCSEL array with 100-GHz wavelength spacing for future-proof mobile fronthaul transport.

PubMed

Lee, Eun-Gu; Mun, Sil-Gu; Lee, Sang Soo; Lee, Jyung Chan; Lee, Jong Hyun

2015-01-12

We report a cost-effective transmitter optical sub-assembly using a monolithic four-wavelength vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) array with 100-GHz wavelength spacing for future-proof mobile fronthaul transport using the data rate of common public radio interface option 6. The wavelength spacing is achieved using selectively etched cavity control layers and fine current adjustment. The differences in operating current and output power for maintaining the wavelength spacing of four VCSELs are <1.4 mA and <1 dB, respectively. Stable operation performance without mode hopping is observed, and error-free transmission under direct modulation is demonstrated over a 20-km single-mode fiber without any dispersion-compensation techniques.

A practicable process for phenol removal with liquid surfactant membrane permeation column

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kataoka, Takeshi; Osaki, Katsuhiko; Nishiki, Tadaaki

1997-05-01

A practicable liquid surfactant membrane process for phenol removal is proposed with a stirred countercurrent column used as the liquid membrane contact equipment. The constituents of liquid membranes, such as internal aqueous phase and surfactant, the type of column, and the operating conditions for efficient and continuous performance of the liquid surfactant membrane process, have been examined. When NaOH solution was used as the internal aqueous phase and ECA4360J was used as the surfactant, the W/O emulsion was stable for the duration of column operation. More than 97% phenol could be removed from the feed solution. Nearly complete demulsification wasmore » also achieved by gentle agitation with an electrostatic demulsifier.« less

Optimization of methylene blue removal by stable emulsified liquid membrane using Plackett–Burman and Box–Behnken designs of experiments

PubMed Central

Djenouhat, Meriem; Bendebane, Farida; Bahloul, Lynda; Samar, Mohamed E. H.

2018-01-01

The stability of an emulsified liquid membrane composed of Span80 as a surfactant, D2EHPA as an extractant and sulfuric acid as an internal phase was first studied according to different diluents and many operating parameters using the Plackett–Burman design of experiments. Then the removal of methylene blue from an aqueous solution has been carried out using this emulsified liquid membrane at its stability conditions. The effects of operating parameters were analysed from the Box–Behnken design of experiments. The optimization of the extraction has been realized applying the response surface methodology and the results showed that the dye extraction yielding 98.72% was achieved at optimized conditions. PMID:29515841

Green-emitting MADF complex for OLED applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klimes, Kody; Zhu, Zhi-Qiang; Holloway, Sean; Li, Jian

2016-09-01

In this article, we demonstrated an exceptional palladium complex that exhibits both phosphorescence and delayed fluorescence for use as an efficient emitter in OLEDs. Devices employing PdN3N achieved external quantum efficiencies in excess of 22% and remarkable device operational lifetime to 90% initial luminance estimated at over 30,000 h at a practical luminance of 100 cd/m2. Further tuning of the phosphorescent and delayed fluorescent emission should have a great impact in the development of efficient and stable emitters for deep blue or white OLEDs.

Near-InfraRed Planet Searcher to Join HARPS on the ESO 3.6-metre Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouchy, F.; Doyon, R.; Artigau, É.; Melo, C.; Hernandez, O.; Wildi, F.; Delfosse, X.; Lovis, C.; Figueira, P.; Canto Martins, B. L..; González Hernández, J. I..; Thibault, S.; Reshetov, V.; Pepe, F.; Santos, N. C.; de Medeiros, J. R..; Rebolo, R.; Abreu, M.; Adibekyan, V. Z.; Bandy, T.; Benz, W.; Blind, N.; Bohlender, D.; Boisse, I.; Bovay, S.; Broeg, C.; Brousseau, D.; Cabral, A.; Chazelas, B.; Cloutier, R.; Coelho, J.; Conod, U.; Cumming, A.; Delabre, B.; Genolet, L.; Hagelberg, J.; Jayawardhana, R.; Käufl, H.-U.; Lafrenière, D.; de Castro Leão, I..; Malo, L.; de Medeiros Martins, A..; Matthews, J. M.; Metchev, S.; Oshagh, M.; Ouellet, M.; Parro, V. C.; Rasilla Piñeiro, J. L..; Santos, P.; Sarajlic, M.; Segovia, A.; Sordet, M.; Udry, S.; Valencia, D.; Vallée, P.; Venn, K.; Wade, G. A.; Saddlemyer, L.

2017-09-01

The Near-InfraRed Planet Searcher (NIRPS) is a new ultra-stable infrared (YJH) spectrograph that will be installed on ESO's 3.6-metre Telescope in La Silla, Chile. Aiming to achieve a precision of 1 m s-1, NIRPS is designed to find rocky planets orbiting M dwarfs, and will operate together with the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS), also on the 3.6-metre Telescope. In this article we describe the NIRPS science cases and present its main technical characteristics.

Performance of single-stage axial-flow transonic compressor with rotor and stator aspect ratios of 1.19 and 1.26 respectively, and with design pressure ratio of 2.05

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, R. D.; Reid, L.

1980-01-01

The overall and blade-element performances of a low-aspect-ratio transonic compressor stage are presented over the stable operating flow range for speeds from 50 to 100 percent of design. At design speed the rotor and stage achieved peak efficiencies of 0.876 and 0.840 at pressure ratios of 2.056 and 2.000, respectively. The stage stall margin at design speed was 10 percent.

Tailoring gadolinium-doped ceria-based solid oxide fuel cells to achieve 2 W cm(-2) at 550 °C.

PubMed

Lee, Jin Goo; Park, Jeong Ho; Shul, Yong Gun

2014-06-04

Low-temperature operation is necessary for next-generation solid oxide fuel cells due to the wide variety of their applications. However, significant increases in the fuel cell losses appear in the low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells, which reduce the cell performance. To overcome this problem, here we report Gd0.1Ce0.9O1.95-based low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells with nanocomposite anode functional layers, thin electrolytes and core/shell fibre-structured Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-δ-Gd0.1Ce0.9O1.95 cathodes. In particular, the report describes the use of the advanced electrospinning and Pechini process in the preparation of the core/shell-fibre-structured cathodes. The fuel cells show a very high performance of 2 W cm(-2) at 550 °C in hydrogen, and are stable for 300 h even under the high current density of 1 A cm(-2). Hence, the results suggest that stable and high-performance solid oxide fuel cells at low temperatures can be achieved by modifying the microstructures of solid oxide fuel cell components.

Navigation Concepts for the James Webb Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Long, Anne; Leung, Dominic; Kelbel, David; Beckman, Mark; Grambling, Cheryl

2003-01-01

This paper evaluates the performance that can be achieved using candidate ground and onboard navigation approaches for operation of the James Webb Space Telescope, which will be in an orbit about the Sun-Earth L2 libration point. The ground navigation approach processes standard range and Doppler measurements from the Deep Space Network The onboard navigation approach processes celestial object measurements and/or ground-to- spacecraft Doppler measurements to autonomously estimate the spacecraft s position and velocity and Doppler reference frequency. Particular attention is given to assessing the absolute position and velocity accuracy that can be achieved in the presence of the frequent spacecraft reorientations and momentum unloads planned for this mission. The ground navigation approach provides stable navigation solutions using a tracking schedule of one 30-minute contact per day. The onboard navigation approach that uses only optical quality celestial object measurements provides stable autonomous navigation solutions. This study indicates that unmodeled changes in the solar radiation pressure cross-sectional area and modeled momentum unload velocity changes are the major error sources. These errors can be mitigated by modeling these changes, by estimating corrections to compensate for the changes, or by including acceleration measurements.

Two kinds of novel tunable Thulium-doped fiber laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Xiaowei; Chen, Daru; Feng, Gaofeng; Yang, Junyong

2014-11-01

Two kinds of tunable Thulium-doped fiber laser (TDFL) respectively using a Sagnac loop mirror and a novel tunable multimode interference (MMI) fiber filter are experimentally demonstrated. The TDFL with the Sagnac loop mirror made by a 145.5-cm polarization-maintaining fiber (PMF) can operate with stable dual-wavelength lasing or tunable single-wavelength lasing around 1860nm. Both stable dual-wavelength and tunable single-wavelength lasing are achieved by adjusting a polarization controller in the Sagnac loop mirror. The TDFL with a novel tunable MMI fiber filter formed by splicing a segment of a special no-core fiber that is an all silica fiber without fiber core to single mode fibers can achieve tuning range from 1813.52 nm to 1858.70 nm. The no-core fiber with a large diameter of 200 μm is gradually vertically covered by refractive index matching liquid, which leads to a wavelength tuning of the transmission peak of the MMI fiber filter. The relationship between the refractive index of the refractive index matching liquid and the peak wavelength shift of the MMI fiber filter is also discussed. Using the MMI fiber filter, a Thulium-doped fiber laser with a tuning range of 45.18 nm is demonstrated.

[Mathematical model of oblique three-dimensional intertrochanteric detorsion varus-forming osteotomy of the femur by the Bernbeck method in surgical treatment of congenital hip dysplasia in children].

PubMed

Bohatyrewicz, A

1992-01-01

Whenever the conservative procedure fails to bring about congruence of the dysplastic hip joint, an operative procedure becomes indispensable. In Orthopaedic Clinic of the Pomeranian Medical Academy in Szczecin we implement the oblique three-dimensional intertrochanteric detorsion and varus forming osteotomy after Bernbeck in order to correct the proximal end of the femoral bone. Precise determination of the plane to be cut, prior to the operative procedure, simplifies and shortens the operation itself and facilitates the achieving of the planned angular values in all three planes. Mathematical model of osteotomy according to Bernbeck considering required angles of correction as well as angles determining the plane of osteotomy was worked out. In collaboration of the Szczecin Technical University, a simple computer program was elaborated which allowed the presentation of the results in the form of tables. With the help of tables the optimal cutting plane was chosen and created correct biomechanical and anatomical conditions as well as optimal conditions for stable osteosynthesis of dissected fragments of the femoral bone. That type of osteotomy is useful in most operative correcrions of the dysplastic hip joint (not great varus formation connected with relatively extensive detorsion). The achieved congruence in the 22 dysplastic hip joints operated on was the most important condition for their later physiological development. Short post-operative observations confirm the value of described mathematic model.

Learning curve of single port laparoscopic cholecystectomy determined using the non-linear ordinary least squares method based on a non-linear regression model: An analysis of 150 consecutive patients.

PubMed

Han, Hyung Joon; Choi, Sae Byeol; Park, Man Sik; Lee, Jin Suk; Kim, Wan Bae; Song, Tae Jin; Choi, Sang Yong

2011-07-01

Single port laparoscopic surgery has come to the forefront of minimally invasive surgery. For those familiar with conventional techniques, however, this type of operation demands a different type of eye/hand coordination and involves unfamiliar working instruments. Herein, the authors describe the learning curve and the clinical outcomes of single port laparoscopic cholecystectomy for 150 consecutive patients with benign gallbladder disease. All patients underwent single port laparoscopic cholecystectomy using a homemade glove port by one of five operators with different levels of experiences of laparoscopic surgery. The learning curve for each operator was fitted using the non-linear ordinary least squares method based on a non-linear regression model. Mean operating time was 77.6 ± 28.5 min. Fourteen patients (6.0%) were converted to conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Complications occurred in 15 patients (10.0%), as follows: bile duct injury (n = 2), surgical site infection (n = 8), seroma (n = 2), and wound pain (n = 3). One operator achieved a learning curve plateau at 61.4 min per procedure after 8.5 cases and his time improved by 95.3 min as compared with initial operation time. Younger surgeons showed significant decreases in mean operation time and achieved stable mean operation times. In particular, younger surgeons showed significant decreases in operation times after 20 cases. Experienced laparoscopic surgeons can safely perform single port laparoscopic cholecystectomy using conventional or angled laparoscopic instruments. The present study shows that an operator can overcome the single port laparoscopic cholecystectomy learning curve in about eight cases.

Startup of the Anammox Process in a Membrane Bioreactor (AnMBR) from Conventional Activated Sludge.

PubMed

Gutwiński, P; Cema, G; Ziembińska-Buczyńska, A; Surmacz-Górska, J; Osadnik, M

2016-12-01

  In this study, a laboratory-scale anammox process in a membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) was used to startup the anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process from conventional activated sludge. Stable operation was achieved after 125 days. From that time, nitrogen load was gradually increased. After six months, the average nitrogen removal efficiency exceeded 80%. The highest obtained special anammox activity (SAA) achieved was 0.17 g (-N + -N) (g VSS × d)-1. Fluorescent in situ hybridization also proved the presence of the anammox bacteria, typically a genus of Brocadia anammoxidans and Kuenenia stuttgartiensis.

Highly Reflective Multi-stable Electrofluidic Display Pixels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Shu

Electronic papers (E-papers) refer to the displays that mimic the appearance of printed papers, but still owning the features of conventional electronic displays, such as the abilities of browsing websites and playing videos. The motivation of creating paper-like displays is inspired by the truths that reading on a paper caused least eye fatigue due to the paper's reflective and light diffusive nature, and, unlike the existing commercial displays, there is no cost of any form of energy for sustaining the displayed image. To achieve the equivalent visual effect of a paper print, an ideal E-paper has to be a highly reflective with good contrast ratio and full-color capability. To sustain the image with zero power consumption, the display pixels need to be bistable, which means the "on" and "off" states are both lowest energy states. Pixel can change its state only when sufficient external energy is given. There are many emerging technologies competing to demonstrate the first ideal E-paper device. However, none is able to achieve satisfactory visual effect, bistability and video speed at the same time. Challenges come from either the inherent physical/chemical properties or the fabrication process. Electrofluidic display is one of the most promising E-paper technologies. It has successfully demonstrated high reflectivity, brilliant color and video speed operation by moving colored pigment dispersion between visible and invisible places with electrowetting force. However, the pixel design did not allow the image bistability. Presented in this dissertation are the multi-stable electrofluidic display pixels that are able to sustain grayscale levels without any power consumption, while keeping the favorable features of the previous generation electrofluidic display. The pixel design, fabrication method using multiple layer dry film photoresist lamination, and physical/optical characterizations are discussed in details. Based on the pixel structure, the preliminary results of a simplified design and fabrication method are demonstrated. As advanced research topics regarding the device optical performance, firstly an optical model for evaluating reflective displays' light out-coupling efficiency is established to guide the pixel design; Furthermore, Aluminum surface diffusers are analytically modeled and then fabricated onto multi-stable electrofluidic display pixels to demonstrate truly "white" multi-stable electrofluidic display modules. The achieved results successfully promoted multi-stable electrofluidic display as excellent candidate for the ultimate E-paper device especially for larger scale signage applications.

Active mode locking of quantum cascade lasers in an external ring cavity.

PubMed

Revin, D G; Hemingway, M; Wang, Y; Cockburn, J W; Belyanin, A

2016-05-05

Stable ultrashort light pulses and frequency combs generated by mode-locked lasers have many important applications including high-resolution spectroscopy, fast chemical detection and identification, studies of ultrafast processes, and laser metrology. While compact mode-locked lasers emitting in the visible and near infrared range have revolutionized photonic technologies, the systems operating in the mid-infrared range where most gases have their strong absorption lines, are bulky and expensive and rely on nonlinear frequency down-conversion. Quantum cascade lasers are the most powerful and versatile compact light sources in the mid-infrared range, yet achieving their mode-locked operation remains a challenge, despite dedicated effort. Here we report the demonstration of active mode locking of an external-cavity quantum cascade laser. The laser operates in the mode-locked regime at room temperature and over the full dynamic range of injection currents.

Active mode locking of quantum cascade lasers in an external ring cavity

PubMed Central

Revin, D. G.; Hemingway, M.; Wang, Y.; Cockburn, J. W.; Belyanin, A.

2016-01-01

Stable ultrashort light pulses and frequency combs generated by mode-locked lasers have many important applications including high-resolution spectroscopy, fast chemical detection and identification, studies of ultrafast processes, and laser metrology. While compact mode-locked lasers emitting in the visible and near infrared range have revolutionized photonic technologies, the systems operating in the mid-infrared range where most gases have their strong absorption lines, are bulky and expensive and rely on nonlinear frequency down-conversion. Quantum cascade lasers are the most powerful and versatile compact light sources in the mid-infrared range, yet achieving their mode-locked operation remains a challenge, despite dedicated effort. Here we report the demonstration of active mode locking of an external-cavity quantum cascade laser. The laser operates in the mode-locked regime at room temperature and over the full dynamic range of injection currents. PMID:27147409

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory: instrumentation and online systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aartsen, M. G.; Ackermann, M.; Adams, J.; Aguilar, J. A.; Ahlers, M.; Ahrens, M.; Altmann, D.; Andeen, K.; Anderson, T.; Ansseau, I.; Anton, G.; Archinger, M.; Argüelles, C.; Auer, R.; Auffenberg, J.; Axani, S.; Baccus, J.; Bai, X.; Barnet, S.; Barwick, S. W.; Baum, V.; Bay, R.; Beattie, K.; Beatty, J. J.; Becker Tjus, J.; Becker, K.-H.; Bendfelt, T.; BenZvi, S.; Berley, D.; Bernardini, E.; Bernhard, A.; Besson, D. Z.; Binder, G.; Bindig, D.; Bissok, M.; Blaufuss, E.; Blot, S.; Boersma, D.; Bohm, C.; Börner, M.; Bos, F.; Bose, D.; Böser, S.; Botner, O.; Bouchta, A.; Braun, J.; Brayeur, L.; Bretz, H.-P.; Bron, S.; Burgman, A.; Burreson, C.; Carver, T.; Casier, M.; Cheung, E.; Chirkin, D.; Christov, A.; Clark, K.; Classen, L.; Coenders, S.; Collin, G. H.; Conrad, J. M.; Cowen, D. F.; Cross, R.; Day, C.; Day, M.; de André, J. P. A. M.; De Clercq, C.; del Pino Rosendo, E.; Dembinski, H.; De Ridder, S.; Descamps, F.; Desiati, P.; de Vries, K. D.; de Wasseige, G.; de With, M.; DeYoung, T.; Díaz-Vélez, J. C.; di Lorenzo, V.; Dujmovic, H.; Dumm, J. P.; Dunkman, M.; Eberhardt, B.; Edwards, W. R.; Ehrhardt, T.; Eichmann, B.; Eller, P.; Euler, S.; Evenson, P. A.; Fahey, S.; Fazely, A. R.; Feintzeig, J.; Felde, J.; Filimonov, K.; Finley, C.; Flis, S.; Fösig, C.-C.; Franckowiak, A.; Frère, M.; Friedman, E.; Fuchs, T.; Gaisser, T. K.; Gallagher, J.; Gerhardt, L.; Ghorbani, K.; Giang, W.; Gladstone, L.; Glauch, T.; Glowacki, D.; Glüsenkamp, T.; Goldschmidt, A.; Gonzalez, J. G.; Grant, D.; Griffith, Z.; Gustafsson, L.; Haack, C.; Hallgren, A.; Halzen, F.; Hansen, E.; Hansmann, T.; Hanson, K.; Haugen, J.; Hebecker, D.; Heereman, D.; Helbing, K.; Hellauer, R.; Heller, R.; Hickford, S.; Hignight, J.; Hill, G. C.; Hoffman, K. D.; Hoffmann, R.; Hoshina, K.; Huang, F.; Huber, M.; Hulth, P. O.; Hultqvist, K.; In, S.; Inaba, M.; Ishihara, A.; Jacobi, E.; Jacobsen, J.; Japaridze, G. S.; Jeong, M.; Jero, K.; Jones, A.; Jones, B. J. P.; Joseph, J.; Kang, W.; Kappes, A.; Karg, T.; Karle, A.; Katz, U.; Kauer, M.; Keivani, A.; Kelley, J. L.; Kemp, J.; Kheirandish, A.; Kim, J.; Kim, M.; Kintscher, T.; Kiryluk, J.; Kitamura, N.; Kittler, T.; Klein, S. R.; Kleinfelder, S.; Kleist, M.; Kohnen, G.; Koirala, R.; Kolanoski, H.; Konietz, R.; Köpke, L.; Kopper, C.; Kopper, S.; Koskinen, D. J.; Kowalski, M.; Krasberg, M.; Krings, K.; Kroll, M.; Krückl, G.; Krüger, C.; Kunnen, J.; Kunwar, S.; Kurahashi, N.; Kuwabara, T.; Labare, M.; Laihem, K.; Landsman, H.; Lanfranchi, J. L.; Larson, M. J.; Lauber, F.; Laundrie, A.; Lennarz, D.; Leich, H.; Lesiak-Bzdak, M.; Leuermann, M.; Lu, L.; Ludwig, J.; Lünemann, J.; Mackenzie, C.; Madsen, J.; Maggi, G.; Mahn, K. B. M.; Mancina, S.; Mandelartz, M.; Maruyama, R.; Mase, K.; Matis, H.; Maunu, R.; McNally, F.; McParland, C. P.; Meade, P.; Meagher, K.; Medici, M.; Meier, M.; Meli, A.; Menne, T.; Merino, G.; Meures, T.; Miarecki, S.; Minor, R. H.; Montaruli, T.; Moulai, M.; Murray, T.; Nahnhauer, R.; Naumann, U.; Neer, G.; Newcomb, M.; Niederhausen, H.; Nowicki, S. C.; Nygren, D. R.; Obertacke Pollmann, A.; Olivas, A.; O'Murchadha, A.; Palczewski, T.; Pandya, H.; Pankova, D. V.; Patton, S.; Peiffer, P.; Penek, Ö.; Pepper, J. A.; Pérez de los Heros, C.; Pettersen, C.; Pieloth, D.; Pinat, E.; Price, P. B.; Przybylski, G. T.; Quinnan, M.; Raab, C.; Rädel, L.; Rameez, M.; Rawlins, K.; Reimann, R.; Relethford, B.; Relich, M.; Resconi, E.; Rhode, W.; Richman, M.; Riedel, B.; Robertson, S.; Rongen, M.; Roucelle, C.; Rott, C.; Ruhe, T.; Ryckbosch, D.; Rysewyk, D.; Sabbatini, L.; Sanchez Herrera, S. E.; Sandrock, A.; Sandroos, J.; Sandstrom, P.; Sarkar, S.; Satalecka, K.; Schlunder, P.; Schmidt, T.; Schoenen, S.; Schöneberg, S.; Schukraft, A.; Schumacher, L.; Seckel, D.; Seunarine, S.; Solarz, M.; Soldin, D.; Song, M.; Spiczak, G. M.; Spiering, C.; Stanev, T.; Stasik, A.; Stettner, J.; Steuer, A.; Stezelberger, T.; Stokstad, R. G.; Stößl, A.; Ström, R.; Strotjohann, N. L.; Sulanke, K.-H.; Sullivan, G. W.; Sutherland, M.; Taavola, H.; Taboada, I.; Tatar, J.; Tenholt, F.; Ter-Antonyan, S.; Terliuk, A.; Tešić, G.; Thollander, L.; Tilav, S.; Toale, P. A.; Tobin, M. N.; Toscano, S.; Tosi, D.; Tselengidou, M.; Turcati, A.; Unger, E.; Usner, M.; Vandenbroucke, J.; van Eijndhoven, N.; Vanheule, S.; van Rossem, M.; van Santen, J.; Vehring, M.; Voge, M.; Vogel, E.; Vraeghe, M.; Wahl, D.; Walck, C.; Wallace, A.; Wallraff, M.; Wandkowsky, N.; Weaver, Ch.; Weiss, M. J.; Wendt, C.; Westerhoff, S.; Wharton, D.; Whelan, B. J.; Wickmann, S.; Wiebe, K.; Wiebusch, C. H.; Wille, L.; Williams, D. R.; Wills, L.; Wisniewski, P.; Wolf, M.; Wood, T. R.; Woolsey, E.; Woschnagg, K.; Xu, D. L.; Xu, X. W.; Xu, Y.; Yanez, J. P.; Yodh, G.; Yoshida, S.; Zoll, M.

2017-03-01

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is a cubic-kilometer-scale high-energy neutrino detector built into the ice at the South Pole. Construction of IceCube, the largest neutrino detector built to date, was completed in 2011 and enabled the discovery of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos. We describe here the design, production, and calibration of the IceCube digital optical module (DOM), the cable systems, computing hardware, and our methodology for drilling and deployment. We also describe the online triggering and data filtering systems that select candidate neutrino and cosmic ray events for analysis. Due to a rigorous pre-deployment protocol, 98.4% of the DOMs in the deep ice are operating and collecting data. IceCube routinely achieves a detector uptime of 99% by emphasizing software stability and monitoring. Detector operations have been stable since construction was completed, and the detector is expected to operate at least until the end of the next decade.

Dual-Band Operation of a Microstrip Patch Antenna on a Duroid 5870 Substrate for Ku- and K-Bands

PubMed Central

Islam, M. M.; Islam, M. T.; Faruque, M. R. I.

2013-01-01

The dual-band operation of a microstrip patch antenna on a Duroid 5870 substrate for Ku- and K-bands is presented. The fabrication of the proposed antenna is performed with slots and a Duroid 5870 dielectric substrate and is excited by a 50 Ω microstrip transmission line. A high-frequency structural simulator (HFSS) is used which is based on the finite element method (FEM) in this research. The measured impedance bandwidth (2 : 1 VSWR) achieved is 1.07 GHz (15.93 GHz–14.86 GHz) on the lower band and 0.94 GHz (20.67–19.73 GHz) on the upper band. A stable omnidirectional radiation pattern is observed in the operating frequency band. The proposed prototype antenna behavior is discussed in terms of the comparisons of the measured and simulated results. PMID:24385878

Dual-band operation of a microstrip patch antenna on a Duroid 5870 substrate for Ku- and K-bands.

PubMed

Islam, M M; Islam, M T; Faruque, M R I

2013-01-01

The dual-band operation of a microstrip patch antenna on a Duroid 5870 substrate for Ku- and K-bands is presented. The fabrication of the proposed antenna is performed with slots and a Duroid 5870 dielectric substrate and is excited by a 50 Ω microstrip transmission line. A high-frequency structural simulator (HFSS) is used which is based on the finite element method (FEM) in this research. The measured impedance bandwidth (2 : 1 VSWR) achieved is 1.07 GHz (15.93 GHz-14.86 GHz) on the lower band and 0.94 GHz (20.67-19.73 GHz) on the upper band. A stable omnidirectional radiation pattern is observed in the operating frequency band. The proposed prototype antenna behavior is discussed in terms of the comparisons of the measured and simulated results.

Operating the production calculus: ordering a production system in the print industry.

PubMed

Button, Graham; Sharrock, Wes

2002-06-01

The topic of shop-floor work has been extensively examined within sociology. However, the organizational structures within which this work takes place have, in the most part, been taken as unexamined givens. Yet, their operation is also the shop-floor work of some people. This paper examines the way in which the stable organizational structures within which shop-floor work takes place are achieved. It is based upon a fieldwork investigation of a large commercial printer and focuses upon the collaborative work of those who are involved in scheduling the production of a job and their use of 'the production calculus' in planning the work of the site. The print industry is undergoing considerable technological change and scheduling technologies have been developed to automate this work. However, there has been little take up of these technologies and the paper also considers how the characteristics of operating the production calculus in practice may account for this.

Compatible diagonal-norm staggered and upwind SBP operators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mattsson, Ken; O'Reilly, Ossian

2018-01-01

The main motivation with the present study is to achieve a provably stable high-order accurate finite difference discretisation of linear first-order hyperbolic problems on a staggered grid. The use of a staggered grid makes it non-trivial to discretise advective terms. To overcome this difficulty we discretise the advective terms using upwind Summation-By-Parts (SBP) operators, while the remaining terms are discretised using staggered SBP operators. The upwind and staggered SBP operators (for each order of accuracy) are compatible, here meaning that they are based on the same diagonal norms, allowing for energy estimates to be formulated. The boundary conditions are imposed using a penalty (SAT) technique, to guarantee linear stability. The resulting SBP-SAT approximations lead to fully explicit ODE systems. The accuracy and stability properties are demonstrated for linear hyperbolic problems in 1D, and for the 2D linearised Euler equations with constant background flow. The newly derived upwind and staggered SBP operators lead to significantly more accurate numerical approximations, compared with the exclusive usage of (previously derived) central-difference first derivative SBP operators.

Stable, high power, high efficiency picosecond ultraviolet generation at 355 nm in K3B6O10 Br crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hou, Z. Y.; Wang, L. R.; Xia, M. J.; Yan, D. X.; Zhang, Q. L.; Zhang, L.; Liu, L. J.; Xu, D. G.; Zhang, D. X.; Wang, X. Y.; Li, R. K.; Chen, C. T.

2018-06-01

We demonstrate a high efficiency and high power picosecond ultraviolet source at 355 nm with stable output by sum frequency generation from a Nd:YAG laser using a type-I critically phase matched K3B6O10 Br crystal as nonlinear optical material. Conversion efficiency as high as 30.8% was achieved using a 25 ps laser at 1064 nm operated at 10 Hz. Similar work is done by using a 35 W 10 ps laser at 1064 nm as the pump source with a repetition rate of 80 MHz, and the highest average output power obtained was up to 5.3 W. In addition, the power stability of the 355 nm output power measurement shows that the standard deviation fluctuations of the average power are ±0.69% and ±0.91% at 3.0 W and 3.5 W, respectively.

45-110 GHz Quad-Ridge Horn With Stable Gain and Symmetric Beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manafi, Sara; Al-Tarifi, Muhannad; Filipovic, Dejan S.

2017-09-01

A quad-ridge horn antenna with stabilized gain and minimum difference between Eand H-plane half-power beamwidths (HPBWs) is demonstrated for operation over 45-110 GHz bandwidth. Multistep flaring and corrugations on a finite ground plane are applied to obtain stable radiation patterns with 16-dBi minimum gain over the entire range. The computational studies are validated through measurements of a 3-D printed prototype using the direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) process. Accurate fabrication with achieved surface roughness of < 1.7 μm of the fabricated antenna is verified with digital microscope. The obtained gain variation, VSWR, and HPBW variation with rotation and over 45-110 GHz bandwidth are below 1.7 dB, 1.7:1, and 9°, respectively. This work demonstrates that the DMLS is a viable fabrication process for wideband horn antennas at millimeter-wave frequencies.

Novel Stable Gel Polymer Electrolyte: Toward a High Safety and Long Life Li-Air Battery.

PubMed

Yi, Jin; Liu, Xizheng; Guo, Shaohua; Zhu, Kai; Xue, Hailong; Zhou, Haoshen

2015-10-28

Nonaqueous Li-air battery, as a promising electrochemical energy storage device, has attracted substantial interest, while the safety issues derived from the intrinsic instability of organic liquid electrolytes may become a possible bottleneck for the future application of Li-air battery. Herein, through elaborate design, a novel stable composite gel polymer electrolyte is first proposed and explored for Li-air battery. By use of the composite gel polymer electrolyte, the Li-air polymer batteries composed of a lithium foil anode and Super P cathode are assembled and operated in ambient air and their cycling performance is evaluated. The batteries exhibit enhanced cycling stability and safety, where 100 cycles are achieved in ambient air at room temperature. The feasibility study demonstrates that the gel polymer electrolyte-based polymer Li-air battery is highly advantageous and could be used as a useful alternative strategy for the development of Li-air battery upon further application.

Clinical Operational Tolerance After Renal Transplantation

PubMed Central

Orlando, Giuseppe; Hematti, Peiman; Stratta, Robert J.; Burke, George W.; Di Cocco, Pierpaolo; Pisani, Francesco; Soker, Shay; Wood, Kathryn

2015-01-01

In solid organ transplantation, the achievement of an immunosuppression (IS)-free state [also referred to as clinical operational tolerance (COT)] represents the ultimate goal. Although COT is feasible and safe in selected cases after liver transplantation, it is an exceptional finding after other types of solid organ transplantation. In the field of renal transplantation (RT), approximately 100 cases of COT have been reported to date, mainly in patients who were not compliant with their immunosuppressive regimens or in individuals who had previously received a bone marrow transplant for hematological disorders. On the basis of promising results obtained in animal models, several tolerogenic protocols have been attempted in humans, but most have failed to achieve robust and stable COT after RT. Molecule-based regimens have been largely ineffective, whereas cell-based regimens have provided some encouraging results. In these latter regimens, apart from standard IS, patients usually receive perioperative infusion of donor bone marrow–derived stem cells, which are able to interact with the immune cells of the host and mitigate their response to engraftment. Unfortunately, most renal transplant patients who developed acute rejection—occurring either during the weaning protocol or after complete withdrawal of IS—eventually lost their grafts. Currently, the immune monitoring necessary for predicting the presence and persistence of donor-specific unresponsiveness is not available. Overall, the present review will provide a conceptual framework for COT and conclude that stable and robust COT after RT remains an elusive goal and that the different strategies attempted to date are not yet reproducibly safe or effective. PMID:21107102

Metal contact engineering and registration-free fabrication of complementary metal-oxide semiconductor integrated circuits using aligned carbon nanotubes.

PubMed

Wang, Chuan; Ryu, Koungmin; Badmaev, Alexander; Zhang, Jialu; Zhou, Chongwu

2011-02-22

Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) operation is very desirable for logic circuit applications as it offers rail-to-rail swing, larger noise margin, and small static power consumption. However, it remains to be a challenging task for nanotube-based devices. Here in this paper, we report our progress on metal contact engineering for n-type nanotube transistors and CMOS integrated circuits using aligned carbon nanotubes. By using Pd as source/drain contacts for p-type transistors, small work function metal Gd as source/drain contacts for n-type transistors, and evaporated SiO(2) as a passivation layer, we have achieved n-type transistor, PN diode, and integrated CMOS inverter with an air-stable operation. Compared with other nanotube n-doping techniques, such as potassium doping, PEI doping, hydrazine doping, etc., using low work function metal contacts for n-type nanotube devices is not only air stable but also integrated circuit fabrication compatible. Moreover, our aligned nanotube platform for CMOS integrated circuits shows significant advantage over the previously reported individual nanotube platforms with respect to scalability and reproducibility and suggests a practical and realistic approach for nanotube-based CMOS integrated circuit applications.

Upgrade of the TITAN EBIT High Voltage Operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foster, Matt; Titan Collaboration

2016-09-01

TRIUMF's Ion Trap for Atomic and Nuclear science (TITAN) is a setup dedicated to highly precise mass measurements of short-lived isotopes down to 10ms. TITAN's Electron Beam Ion Trap (EBIT) is a charge breeder integrated into the setup to perform in-trap decay spectroscopy of highly charged ions and increase the precision of mass measurements. In its previous configuration TITAN's EBIT could not fulfil its maximum design specification due to high voltage safety restrictions, limiting its obtainable charge states. A recently completed upgrade of the high voltage operation that will allow the EBIT to fulfil its design specification and achieve higher charge states for heavier species is undergoing preliminary tests with stable beam. Simulations were performed to optimise the injection and extraction efficiency at high voltage and initial tests have involved using a Ge detector to identify x-rays produced by charge breeding stable ions. Future work comprises exploring electron capture rates of Ne-, He- and H-like charge states of 64Cu and higher masses, which were not previously accessible. The function of the EBIT within the TITAN setup, the work carried out on the upgrade thus far and its scope for future work will be presented.

Maximum organic loading rate for the single-stage wet anaerobic digestion of food waste.

PubMed

Nagao, Norio; Tajima, Nobuyuki; Kawai, Minako; Niwa, Chiaki; Kurosawa, Norio; Matsuyama, Tatsushi; Yusoff, Fatimah Md; Toda, Tatsuki

2012-08-01

Anaerobic digestion of food waste was conducted at high OLR from 3.7 to 12.9 kg-VS m(-3) day(-1) for 225 days. Periods without organic loading were arranged between the each loading period. Stable operation at an OLR of 9.2 kg-VS (15.0 kg-COD) m(-3) day(-1) was achieved with a high VS reduction (91.8%) and high methane yield (455 mL g-VS-1). The cell density increased in the periods without organic loading, and reached to 10.9×10(10) cells mL(-1) on day 187, which was around 15 times higher than that of the seed sludge. There was a significant correlation between OLR and saturated TSS in the sludge (y=17.3e(0.1679×), r(2)=0.996, P<0.05). A theoretical maximum OLR of 10.5 kg-VS (17.0 kg-COD) m(-3) day(-1) was obtained for mesophilic single-stage wet anaerobic digestion that is able to maintain a stable operation with high methane yield and VS reduction. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Continuous operation of thermophilic food waste digestion with side-stream ammonia stripping.

PubMed

Zhang, Wei; Heaven, Sonia; Banks, Charles J

2017-11-01

Digesters fed on food waste (high nitrogen content) were operated successfully over an extended period using sidestream biogas stripping to control total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) below inhibitory concentrations. This is the first time biogas stripping has been used to achieve stable thermophilic operation with undiluted substrate of this type. Stripping columns operated batch-wise treated the equivalent of 1.7-4.1% of digester contents daily at pH >10 and 70°C, with no detrimental effect on digestion. TKN removal was 54%, with potential to recover 3.5kgNtonne -1 substrate. When stripping was stopped in one digester TAN increased, accompanied by rising propionic acid concentrations with progressive instability observed from 2.5gNL -1 . Eventual failure as TAN approached 5gNL -1 was due to rapid acetic acid accumulation, resulting in a fall in pH to below 6.5. The pattern of VFA accumulation indicated failure of both acetoclastic methanogenesis and acetate oxidation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stable thermophilic anaerobic digestion of dissolved air flotation (DAF) sludge by co-digestion with swine manure.

PubMed

Creamer, K S; Chen, Y; Williams, C M; Cheng, J J

2010-05-01

Environmentally sound treatment of by-products in a value-adding process is an ongoing challenge in animal agriculture. The sludge produced as a result of the dissolved air flotation (DAF) wastewater treatment process in swine processing facilities is one such low-value residue. The objective of this study was to determine the fundamental performance parameters for thermophilic anaerobic digestion of DAF sludge. Testing in a semi-continuous stirred tank reactor and in batch reactors was conducted to determine the kinetics of degradation and biogas yield. Stable operation could not be achieved using pure DAF sludge as a substrate, possibly due to inhibition by long-chain fatty acids or to nutrient deficiencies. However, in a 1:1 ratio (w/w, dry basis) with swine manure, operation was both stable and productive. In the semi-continuous stirred reactor at 54.5 degrees Celsius, a hydraulic residence time of 10 days, and an organic loading rate of 4.68 gVS/day/L, the methane production rate was 2.19 L/L/day and the specific methane production rate was 0.47 L/gVS (fed). Maximum specific methanogenic activity (SMA) in batch testing was 0.15 mmoles CH(4) h(-1) gVS(-1) at a substrate concentration of 6.9 gVS L(-1). Higher substrate concentrations cause an initial lag in methane production, possibly due to long-chain fatty acid or nitrogen inhibition. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fitzpatrick, Stephen W.

This project involved a three-year program managed by BioMetics, Inc. (Waltham, MA) to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of Biofine thermochemical process technology for conversion of cellulose-containing wastes or renewable materials into levulinic acid, a versatile platform chemical. The program, commencing in October 1995, involved the design, procurement, construction and operation of a plant utilizing the Biofine process to convert 1 dry ton per day of paper sludge waste. The plant was successfully designed, constructed, and commissioned in 1997. It was operated for a period of one year on paper sludge from a variety of source paper mills to collect datamore » to verify the design for a commercial scale plant. Operational results were obtained for four different feedstock varieties. Stable, continuous operation was achieved for two of the feedstocks. Continuous operation of the plant at demonstration scale provided the opportunity for process optimization, development of operational protocols, operator training and identification of suitable materials of construction for scale up to commercial operation . Separated fiber from municipal waster was also successfully processed. The project team consisted of BioMetics Inc., Great Lakes Chemical Corporation (West Lafayette, IN), and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (Albany, NY).« less

Approximated Stable Inversion for Nonlinear Systems with Nonhyperbolic Internal Dynamics. Revised

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Devasia, Santosh

1999-01-01

A technique to achieve output tracking for nonminimum phase nonlinear systems with non- hyperbolic internal dynamics is presented. The present paper integrates stable inversion techniques (that achieve exact-tracking) with approximation techniques (that modify the internal dynamics) to circumvent the nonhyperbolicity of the internal dynamics - this nonhyperbolicity is an obstruction to applying presently available stable inversion techniques. The theory is developed for nonlinear systems and the method is applied to a two-cart with inverted-pendulum example.

Selection and Application of Sulfide Oxidizing Microorganisms Able to Withstand Thiols in Gas Biodesulfurization Systems.

PubMed

Roman, Pawel; Klok, Johannes B M; Sousa, João A B; Broman, Elias; Dopson, Mark; Van Zessen, Erik; Bijmans, Martijn F M; Sorokin, Dimitry Y; Janssen, Albert J H

2016-12-06

After the first commercial applications of a new biological process for the removal of hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) from low pressure biogas, the need arose to broaden the operating window to also enable the removal of organosulfur compounds from high pressure sour gases. In this study we have selected microorganisms from a full-scale biodesulfurization system that are capable of withstanding the presence of thiols. This full-scale unit has been in stable operation for more than 10 years. We investigated the microbial community by using high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons which showed that methanethiol gave a competitive advantage to bacteria belonging to the genera Thioalkalibacter (Halothiobacillaceae family) and Alkalilimnicola (Ectothiorhosdospiraceae family). The sulfide-oxidizing potential of the acclimatized population was investigated under elevated thiol loading rates (4.5-9.1 mM d -1 ), consisting of a mix of methanethiol, ethanethiol, and propanethiol. With this biomass, it was possible to achieve a stable bioreactor operation at which 80% of the supplied H 2 S (61 mM d -1 ) was biologically oxidized to elemental sulfur. The remainder was chemically produced thiosulfate. Moreover, we found that a conventionally applied method for controlling the oxygen supply to the bioreactor, that is, by maintaining a redox potential set-point value, appeared to be ineffective in the presence of thiols.

Long-pulse power-supply system for EAST neutral-beam injectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Zhimin; Jiang, Caichao; Pan, Junjun; Liu, Sheng; Xu, Yongjian; Chen, Shiyong; Hu, Chundong; NBI Team

2017-05-01

The long-pulse power-supply system equipped for the 4 MW beam-power ion source is comprised of three units at ASIPP (Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences): one for the neutral-beam test stand and two for the EAST neutral-beam injectors (NBI-1 and NBI-2, respectively). Each power supply system consists of two low voltage and high current DC power supplies for plasma generation of the ion source, and two high voltage and high current DC power supplies for the accelerator grid system. The operation range of the NB power supply is about 80 percent of the design value, which is the safe and stable operation range. At the neutral-beam test stand, a hydrogen ion beam with a beam pulse of 150 s, beam power of 1.5 MW and beam energy of 50 keV was achieved during the long-pulse testing experiments. The result shows that the power-supply system meets the requirements of the EAST-NBIs fully and lays a basis for achieving plasma heating.

Parity-time–symmetric optoelectronic oscillator

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

An optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) is a hybrid microwave and photonic system incorporating an amplified positive feedback loop to enable microwave oscillation to generate a high-frequency and low–phase noise microwave signal. The low phase noise is ensured by the high Q factor of the feedback loop enabled by the use of a long and low-loss optical fiber. However, an OEO with a long fiber loop would have a small free spectral range, leading to a large number of closely spaced oscillation modes. To ensure single-mode oscillation, an ultranarrowband optical filter must be used, but such an optical filter is hard to implement and the stability is poor. Here, we use a novel concept to achieve single-mode oscillation without using an ultranarrowband optical filter. The single-mode operation is achieved based on parity-time (PT) symmetry by using two identical feedback loops, with one having a gain and the other having a loss of the same magnitude. The operation is analyzed theoretically and verified by an experiment. Stable single-mode oscillation at an ultralow phase noise is achieved without the use of an ultranarrowband optical filter. The use of PT symmetry in an OEO overcomes the long-existing mode-selection challenge that would greatly simplify the implementation of OEOs for ultralow–phase noise microwave generation. PMID:29888325

Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) implementation of image processing algorithms to improve system performance of the Control, Acquisition, Processing, and Image Display System (CAPIDS) of the Micro-Angiographic Fluoroscope (MAF).

PubMed

Vasan, S N Swetadri; Ionita, Ciprian N; Titus, A H; Cartwright, A N; Bednarek, D R; Rudin, S

2012-02-23

We present the image processing upgrades implemented on a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) in the Control, Acquisition, Processing, and Image Display System (CAPIDS) for the custom Micro-Angiographic Fluoroscope (MAF) detector. Most of the image processing currently implemented in the CAPIDS system is pixel independent; that is, the operation on each pixel is the same and the operation on one does not depend upon the result from the operation on the other, allowing the entire image to be processed in parallel. GPU hardware was developed for this kind of massive parallel processing implementation. Thus for an algorithm which has a high amount of parallelism, a GPU implementation is much faster than a CPU implementation. The image processing algorithm upgrades implemented on the CAPIDS system include flat field correction, temporal filtering, image subtraction, roadmap mask generation and display window and leveling. A comparison between the previous and the upgraded version of CAPIDS has been presented, to demonstrate how the improvement is achieved. By performing the image processing on a GPU, significant improvements (with respect to timing or frame rate) have been achieved, including stable operation of the system at 30 fps during a fluoroscopy run, a DSA run, a roadmap procedure and automatic image windowing and leveling during each frame.

Biogas Production: Microbiology and Technology.

PubMed

Schnürer, Anna

Biogas, containing energy-rich methane, is produced by microbial decomposition of organic material under anaerobic conditions. Under controlled conditions, this process can be used for the production of energy and a nutrient-rich residue suitable for use as a fertilising agent. The biogas can be used for production of heat, electricity or vehicle fuel. Different substrates can be used in the process and, depending on substrate character, various reactor technologies are available. The microbiological process leading to methane production is complex and involves many different types of microorganisms, often operating in close relationships because of the limited amount of energy available for growth. The microbial community structure is shaped by the incoming material, but also by operating parameters such as process temperature. Factors leading to an imbalance in the microbial community can result in process instability or even complete process failure. To ensure stable operation, different key parameters, such as levels of degradation intermediates and gas quality, are often monitored. Despite the fact that the anaerobic digestion process has long been used for industrial production of biogas, many questions need still to be resolved to achieve optimal management and gas yields and to exploit the great energy and nutrient potential available in waste material. This chapter discusses the different aspects that need to be taken into consideration to achieve optimal degradation and gas production, with particular focus on operation management and microbiology.

The Design of Distributed Micro Grid Energy Storage System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Ya-feng; Wang, Yan-ping

2018-03-01

Distributed micro-grid runs in island mode, the energy storage system is the core to maintain the micro-grid stable operation. For the problems that it is poor to adjust at work and easy to cause the volatility of micro-grid caused by the existing energy storage structure of fixed connection. In this paper, an array type energy storage structure is proposed, and the array type energy storage system structure and working principle are analyzed. Finally, the array type energy storage structure model is established based on MATLAB, the simulation results show that the array type energy storage system has great flexibility, which can maximize the utilization of energy storage system, guarantee the reliable operation of distributed micro-grid and achieve the function of peak clipping and valley filling.

Spectral Narrowing of a Varactor-Integrated Resonant-Tunneling-Diode Terahertz Oscillator by Phase-Locked Loop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogino, Kota; Suzuki, Safumi; Asada, Masahiro

2017-12-01

Spectral narrowing of a resonant-tunneling-diode (RTD) terahertz oscillator, which is useful for various applications of terahertz frequency range, such as an accurate gas spectroscopy, a frequency reference in various communication systems, etc., was achieved with a phase-locked loop system. The oscillator is composed of an RTD, a slot antenna, and a varactor diode for electrical frequency tuning. The output of the RTD oscillating at 610 GHz was down-converted to 400 MHz by a heterodyne detection. The phase noise was transformed to amplitude noise by a balanced mixer and fed back into the varactor diode. The loop filter for a stable operation is discussed. The spectral linewidth of 18.6 MHz in free-running operation was reduced to less than 1 Hz by the feedback.

Fourier transform wavefront control with adaptive prediction of the atmosphere.

PubMed

Poyneer, Lisa A; Macintosh, Bruce A; Véran, Jean-Pierre

2007-09-01

Predictive Fourier control is a temporal power spectral density-based adaptive method for adaptive optics that predicts the atmosphere under the assumption of frozen flow. The predictive controller is based on Kalman filtering and a Fourier decomposition of atmospheric turbulence using the Fourier transform reconstructor. It provides a stable way to compensate for arbitrary numbers of atmospheric layers. For each Fourier mode, efficient and accurate algorithms estimate the necessary atmospheric parameters from closed-loop telemetry and determine the predictive filter, adjusting as conditions change. This prediction improves atmospheric rejection, leading to significant improvements in system performance. For a 48x48 actuator system operating at 2 kHz, five-layer prediction for all modes is achievable in under 2x10(9) floating-point operations/s.

High-intensity xenon plasma discharge lamp for bulk-sensitive high-resolution photoemission spectroscopy.

PubMed

Souma, S; Sato, T; Takahashi, T; Baltzer, P

2007-12-01

We have developed a highly brilliant xenon (Xe) discharge lamp operated by microwave-induced electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) for ultrahigh-resolution bulk-sensitive photoemission spectroscopy (PES). We observed at least eight strong radiation lines from neutral or singly ionized Xe atoms in the energy region of 8.4-10.7 eV. The photon flux of the strongest Xe I resonance line at 8.437 eV is comparable to that of the He Ialpha line (21.218 eV) from the He-ECR discharge lamp. Stable operation for more than 300 h is achieved by efficient air-cooling of a ceramic tube in the resonance cavity. The high bulk sensitivity and high-energy resolution of PES using the Xe lines are demonstrated for some typical materials.

Process for heating coal-oil slurries

DOEpatents

Braunlin, W.A.; Gorski, A.; Jaehnig, L.J.; Moskal, C.J.; Naylor, J.D.; Parimi, K.; Ward, J.V.

1984-01-03

Controlling gas to slurry volume ratio to achieve a gas holdup of about 0.4 when heating a flowing coal-oil slurry and a hydrogen containing gas stream allows operation with virtually any coal to solvent ratio and permits operation with efficient heat transfer and satisfactory pressure drops. The critical minimum gas flow rate for any given coal-oil slurry will depend on numerous factors such as coal concentration, coal particle size distribution, composition of the solvent (including recycle slurries), and type of coal. Further system efficiency can be achieved by operating with multiple heating zones to provide a high heat flux when the apparent viscosity of the gas saturated slurry is highest. Operation with gas flow rates below the critical minimum results in system instability indicated by temperature excursions in the fluid and at the tube wall, by a rapid increase and then decrease in overall pressure drop with decreasing gas flow rate, and by increased temperature differences between the temperature of the bulk fluid and the tube wall. At the temperatures and pressures used in coal liquefaction preheaters the coal-oil slurry and hydrogen containing gas stream behaves essentially as a Newtonian fluid at shear rates in excess of 150 sec[sup [minus]1]. The gas to slurry volume ratio should also be controlled to assure that the flow regime does not shift from homogeneous flow to non-homogeneous flow. Stable operations have been observed with a maximum gas holdup as high as 0.72. 29 figs.

Process for heating coal-oil slurries

DOEpatents

Braunlin, Walter A.; Gorski, Alan; Jaehnig, Leo J.; Moskal, Clifford J.; Naylor, Joseph D.; Parimi, Krishnia; Ward, John V.

1984-01-03

Controlling gas to slurry volume ratio to achieve a gas holdup of about 0.4 when heating a flowing coal-oil slurry and a hydrogen containing gas stream allows operation with virtually any coal to solvent ratio and permits operation with efficient heat transfer and satisfactory pressure drops. The critical minimum gas flow rate for any given coal-oil slurry will depend on numerous factors such as coal concentration, coal particle size distribution, composition of the solvent (including recycle slurries), and type of coal. Further system efficiency can be achieved by operating with multiple heating zones to provide a high heat flux when the apparent viscosity of the gas saturated slurry is highest. Operation with gas flow rates below the critical minimum results in system instability indicated by temperature excursions in the fluid and at the tube wall, by a rapid increase and then decrease in overall pressure drop with decreasing gas flow rate, and by increased temperature differences between the temperature of the bulk fluid and the tube wall. At the temperatures and pressures used in coal liquefaction preheaters the coal-oil slurry and hydrogen containing gas stream behaves essentially as a Newtonian fluid at shear rates in excess of 150 sec.sup. -1. The gas to slurry volume ratio should also be controlled to assure that the flow regime does not shift from homogeneous flow to non-homogeneous flow. Stable operations have been observed with a maximum gas holdup as high as 0.72.

Coherent frequency combs produced by self frequency modulation in quantum cascade lasers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Khurgin, J. B.; Dikmelik, Y.; Hugi, A.

2014-02-24

One salient characteristic of Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) is its very short τ ∼ 1 ps gain recovery time that so far thwarted the attempts to achieve self-mode locking of the device into a train of single pulses. We show theoretically that four wave mixing, combined with the short gain recovery time causes QCL to operate in the self-frequency-modulated regime characterized by a constant power in time domain and stable coherent comb in the frequency domain. Coherent frequency comb may enable many potential applications of QCL's in sensing and measurement.

Treatment of HMX-production wastewater in an aerobic granular reactor.

PubMed

Zhang, Jin-Hua; Wang, Min-Hui; Zhu, Xiao-Meng

2013-04-01

Aerobic granules were applied to the treatment of HMX-production wastewater using a gradual domestication method in a SBR. During the process, the granules showed a good settling ability, a high biomass retention rate, and high biological activity. After 40 days of stable operation, aerobic granular sludge performed very effectively in the removal of carbon and nitrogen compounds from HMX-production wastewater. Organic matter removal rates up to 97.57% and nitrogen removal efficiencies up to 80% were achieved during the process. Researchers conclude that using aerobic granules to treat explosive wastewater has good prospects for success.

Return to competitive sports after medial epicondyle fractures in adolescent athletes: results of operative and nonoperative treatment.

PubMed

Lawrence, J Todd R; Patel, Neeraj M; Macknin, Jonathan; Flynn, John M; Cameron, Danielle; Wolfgruber, Hayley C; Ganley, Theodore J

2013-05-01

The optimal treatment of medial epicondyle fractures in pediatric athletes remains unclear. To evaluate the outcomes of operative and nonoperative management of medial epicondyle fractures in young athletes. Case series; Level of evidence, 4. The records of all children with fractures of the medial epicondyle over a 5-year period, with a minimum 2 years of follow-up at a pediatric tertiary referral center, were reviewed. Patients with intra-articular entrapment of the fracture fragment or ulnar nerve entrapment were excluded. Treatment decisions were made primarily based on injury mechanism and elbow laxity or instability. Patients were contacted and asked to complete a modified Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire. Complete data with 2-year follow-up were available for 20 athletes: 6 treated nonoperatively and 14 treated operatively. At the latest follow-up, both groups achieved excellent DASH scores. Half of each cohort required physical therapy, and 6 of 14 patients who received operative treatment reported numbness. All patients were either very or completely satisfied with their treatment. Fourteen patients were overhead athletes (8 treated operatively, 6 nonoperatively). Excellent DASH scores were achieved in both groups, and all overhead athletes were able to return to their sport at the next appropriate level. Seven patients were baseball pitchers and sustained a fracture while throwing (4 treated operatively, 3 nonoperatively). None felt their performance was limited after treatment, and excellent DASH scores were achieved in both groups. These data demonstrate that nonoperative treatment can be successful in young athletes with low-energy medial epicondyle avulsions, a stable elbow, and minimal fracture displacement. Surgical management can be successful in athletes who sustain more significant trauma, who have elbow laxity or instability, or who have significant fracture fragment displacement after a fracture of the medial epicondyle.

System-state and operating condition sensitive control method and apparatus for electric power delivery systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burns, III, William Wesley (Inventor); Wilson, Thomas George (Inventor)

1978-01-01

This invention provides a method and apparatus for determining a precise switching sequence for the power switching elements of electric power delivery systems of the on-off switching type and which enables extremely fast transient response, precise regulation and highly stable operation. The control utilizes the values of the power delivery system power handling network components, a desired output characteristic, a system timing parameter, and the externally imposed operating conditions to determine where steady state operations should be in order to yield desired output characteristics for the given system specifications. The actual state of the power delivery system is continuously monitored and compared to a state-space boundary which is derived from the desired equilibrium condition, and from the information obtained from this comparison, the system is moved to the desired equilibrium condition in one cycle of switching control. Since the controller continuously monitors the power delivery system's externally imposed operating conditions, a change in the conditions is immediately sensed and a new equilibrium condition is determined and achieved, again in a single cycle of switching control.

Controlling Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities in solid liner implosions with rotating magnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmit, P. F.; McBride, R. D.; Robertson, G. K.; Velikovich, A. L.

2016-10-01

We report calculations demonstrating that a remarkable reduction in the growth of the magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instability (MRTI) in initially solid, cylindrical metal shells can be achieved by applying a magnetic drive with a tilted, dynamic polarization, forming a solid-liner dynamic screw pinch (SLDSP). Using a self-consistent analytic framework, we demonstrate that MRTI growth factors of the most detrimental modes may be reduced by up to two orders of magnitude relative to conventional z-pinch implosions. One key application of this technique is to enable increasingly stable, higher performance liner implosions to achieve fusion. We weigh the potentially dramatic benefits of the SLDSP against the practical tradeoffs required to achieve the desired drive field history and identify promising target designs for future experimental and computational investigations. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. DoE's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

Femtosecond-laser-written Tm:KLu(WO₄)₂ waveguide lasers.

PubMed

Kifle, Esrom; Mateos, Xavier; de Aldana, Javier Rodríguez Vázquez; Ródenas, Airan; Loiko, Pavel; Choi, Sun Yung; Rotermund, Fabian; Griebner, Uwe; Petrov, Valentin; Aguiló, Magdalena; Díaz, Francesc

2017-03-15

Depressed-index channel waveguides with a circular and photonic crystal cladding structures are prepared in a bulk monoclinic Tm:KLu(WO₄)₂ crystal by 3D direct femtosecond laser writing. The channel waveguide structures are characterized and laser operation is achieved using external mirrors. In the continuous-wave mode, the maximum output power of 46 mW is achieved at 1912 nm corresponding to a slope efficiency of 15.2% and a laser threshold of only 21 mW. Passive Q-switching of a waveguide with a circular cladding is realized using single-walled carbon nanotubes. Stable 7 nJ/50 ns pulses are achieved at a repetition rate of 1.48 MHz. This first demonstration of ∼2  μm fs-laser-written waveguide lasers based on monoclinic double tungstates is promising for further lasers of this type doped with Tm³⁺ and Ho³⁺  ions.

Life test of a xenon hollow cathode for a space plasma contractor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sarver-Verhey, Timothy R.

1994-01-01

A plasma contacting device using a hollow cathode for plasma production has been baselined for use on the Space Station. This application will require reliable, continuous operation of the cathode at electron emission currents of between 0.75 and 10 A for two years (17,500 hours). In order to validate life-time capability, a hollow cathode, operated in a diode configuration, has been tested for more than 8600 hours of stable discharge operation as of March 30, 1994. This cathode is operated at a steady-state emission current of 12.0 and a fixed xenon flow rate of 4.5 sccm. Discharge voltage and cathode temperature have remained relatively stable at approximately 12.9 V and 1260 C during the test. The test has experienced 7 shutdowns to date. In all instances, the cathode was reignited at about 42 V and resumed stable operation. This test represents the longest demonstration of stable operation of high current (greater than 1A) xenon hollow cathodes reported to date.

Passive levitation in alternating magnetic fields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Romero, Louis; Christenson, Todd; Aronson, Eugene A.

2010-09-14

Stable levitation of an object in an alternating magnetic field can be achieved by eliminating coupling between the rotational and translational forces acting on the object. Stable levitation can also be achieved by varying the coupling between the rotational and translational forces acting on the object, while maintaining one or more of the rotational and translational forces steady in time.

Passive levitation in alternating magnetic fields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Romero, Louis; Christenson, Todd; Aronson, Eugene A

2009-06-16

Stable levitation of an object in an alternating magnetic field can be achieved by eliminating coupling between the rotational and translational forces acting on the object. Stable levitation can also be achieved by varying the coupling between the rotational and translational forces acting on the object, while maintaining one or more of the rotational and translational forces steady in time.

Output Tracking for Systems with Non-Hyperbolic and Near Non-Hyperbolic Internal Dynamics: Helicopter Hover Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Devasia, Santosh

1996-01-01

A technique to achieve output tracking for nonminimum phase linear systems with non-hyperbolic and near non-hyperbolic internal dynamics is presented. This approach integrates stable inversion techniques, that achieve exact-tracking, with approximation techniques, that modify the internal dynamics to achieve desirable performance. Such modification of the internal dynamics is used (1) to remove non-hyperbolicity which an obstruction to applying stable inversion techniques and (2) to reduce large pre-actuation time needed to apply stable inversion for near non-hyperbolic cases. The method is applied to an example helicopter hover control problem with near non-hyperbolic internal dynamic for illustrating the trade-off between exact tracking and reduction of pre-actuation time.

Engineering the surface of LiCoO 2 electrodes using atomic layer deposition for stable high-voltage lithium ion batteries

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xie, Jin; Zhao, Jie; Liu, Yayuan

Here, developing advanced technologies to stabilize positive electrodes of lithium ion batteries under high-voltage operation is becoming increasingly important, owing to the potential to achieve substantially enhanced energy density for applications such as portable electronics and electrical vehicles. Here, we deposited chemically inert and ionically conductive LiAlO 2 interfacial layers on LiCoO 2 electrodes using the atomic layer deposition technique. During prolonged cycling at high-voltage, the LiAlO 2 coating not only prevented interfacial reactions between the LiCoO 2 electrode and electrolyte, as confirmed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and Raman characterizations, but also allowed lithium ions to freely diffuse into LiCoOmore » 2 without sacrificing the power density. As a result, a capacity value close to 200 mA·h·g –1 was achieved for the LiCoO 2 electrodes with commercial level loading densities, cycled at the cut-off potential of 4.6 V vs. Li +/Li for 50 stable cycles; this represents a 40% capacity gain, compared with the values obtained for commercial samples cycled at the cut-off potential of 4.2 V vs. Li +/Li.« less

Engineering the surface of LiCoO 2 electrodes using atomic layer deposition for stable high-voltage lithium ion batteries

DOE PAGES

Xie, Jin; Zhao, Jie; Liu, Yayuan; ...

2017-07-25

Here, developing advanced technologies to stabilize positive electrodes of lithium ion batteries under high-voltage operation is becoming increasingly important, owing to the potential to achieve substantially enhanced energy density for applications such as portable electronics and electrical vehicles. Here, we deposited chemically inert and ionically conductive LiAlO 2 interfacial layers on LiCoO 2 electrodes using the atomic layer deposition technique. During prolonged cycling at high-voltage, the LiAlO 2 coating not only prevented interfacial reactions between the LiCoO 2 electrode and electrolyte, as confirmed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and Raman characterizations, but also allowed lithium ions to freely diffuse into LiCoOmore » 2 without sacrificing the power density. As a result, a capacity value close to 200 mA·h·g –1 was achieved for the LiCoO 2 electrodes with commercial level loading densities, cycled at the cut-off potential of 4.6 V vs. Li +/Li for 50 stable cycles; this represents a 40% capacity gain, compared with the values obtained for commercial samples cycled at the cut-off potential of 4.2 V vs. Li +/Li.« less

Intra-operative evaluation of cementless hip implant stability: a prototype device based on vibration analysis.

PubMed

Lannocca, Maurizio; Varini, Elena; Cappello, Angelo; Cristofolini, Luca; Bialoblocka, Ewa

2007-10-01

Cementless implants are mechanically stabilized during surgery by a press-fitting procedure. Good initial stability is crucial to avoid stem loosening and bone cracking, therefore, the surgeon must achieve optimal press-fitting. A possible approach to solve this problem and assist the surgeon in achieving the optimal compromise, involves the use of vibration analysis. The present study aimed to design and test a prototype device able to evaluate the primary mechanical stability of a cementless prosthesis, based on vibration analysis. In particular, the goal was to discriminate between stable and quasi-stable implants; thus the stem-bone system was assumed to be linear in both cases. For that reason, it was decided to study the frequency responses of the system, instead of the harmonic distortion. The prototype developed consists of a piezoelectric exciter connected to the stem and an accelerometer attached to the femur. Preliminary tests were performed on four composite femurs implanted with a conventional stem. The results showed that the input signal was repeatable and the output could be recorded accurately. The most sensitive parameter to stability was the shift in resonance frequency of the stem-bone system, which was highly correlated with residual micromotion on all four specimens.

Highly Efficient Spectrally Stable Red Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes.

PubMed

Tian, Yu; Zhou, Chenkun; Worku, Michael; Wang, Xi; Ling, Yichuan; Gao, Hanwei; Zhou, Yan; Miao, Yu; Guan, Jingjiao; Ma, Biwu

2018-05-01

Perovskite light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have recently attracted great research interest for their narrow emissions and solution processability. Remarkable progress has been achieved in green perovskite LEDs in recent years, but not blue or red ones. Here, highly efficient and spectrally stable red perovskite LEDs with quasi-2D perovskite/poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) composite thin films as the light-emitting layer are reported. By controlling the molar ratios of organic salt (benzylammonium iodide) to inorganic salts (cesium iodide and lead iodide), luminescent quasi-2D perovskite thin films are obtained with tunable emission colors from red to deep red. The perovskite/polymer composite approach enables quasi-2D perovskite/PEO composite thin films to possess much higher photoluminescence quantum efficiencies and smoothness than their neat quasi-2D perovskite counterparts. Electrically driven LEDs with emissions peaked at 638, 664, 680, and 690 nm have been fabricated to exhibit high brightness and external quantum efficiencies (EQEs). For instance, the perovskite LED with an emission peaked at 680 nm exhibits a brightness of 1392 cd m -2 and an EQE of 6.23%. Moreover, exceptional electroluminescence spectral stability under continuous device operation has been achieved for these red perovskite LEDs. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

First operation with the JET International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor-like walla)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neu, R.; Arnoux, G.; Beurskens, M.; Bobkov, V.; Brezinsek, S.; Bucalossi, J.; Calabro, G.; Challis, C.; Coenen, J. W.; de la Luna, E.; de Vries, P. C.; Dux, R.; Frassinetti, L.; Giroud, C.; Groth, M.; Hobirk, J.; Joffrin, E.; Lang, P.; Lehnen, M.; Lerche, E.; Loarer, T.; Lomas, P.; Maddison, G.; Maggi, C.; Matthews, G.; Marsen, S.; Mayoral, M.-L.; Meigs, A.; Mertens, Ph.; Nunes, I.; Philipps, V.; Pütterich, T.; Rimini, F.; Sertoli, M.; Sieglin, B.; Sips, A. C. C.; van Eester, D.; van Rooij, G.; JET-EFDA Contributors

2013-05-01

To consolidate International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) design choices and prepare for its operation, Joint European Torus (JET) has implemented ITER's plasma facing materials, namely, Be for the main wall and W in the divertor. In addition, protection systems, diagnostics, and the vertical stability control were upgraded and the heating capability of the neutral beams was increased to over 30 MW. First results confirm the expected benefits and the limitations of all metal plasma facing components (PFCs) but also yield understanding of operational issues directly relating to ITER. H-retention is lower by at least a factor of 10 in all operational scenarios compared to that with C PFCs. The lower C content (≈ factor 10) has led to much lower radiation during the plasma burn-through phase eliminating breakdown failures. Similarly, the intrinsic radiation observed during disruptions is very low, leading to high power loads and to a slow current quench. Massive gas injection using a D2/Ar mixture restores levels of radiation and vessel forces similar to those of mitigated disruptions with the C wall. Dedicated L-H transition experiments indicate a 30% power threshold reduction, a distinct minimum density, and a pronounced shape dependence. The L-mode density limit was found to be up to 30% higher than for C allowing stable detached divertor operation over a larger density range. Stable H-modes as well as the hybrid scenario could be re-established only when using gas puff levels of a few 1021 es-1. On average, the confinement is lower with the new PFCs, but nevertheless, H factors up to 1 (H-Mode) and 1.3 (at βN≈3, hybrids) have been achieved with W concentrations well below the maximum acceptable level.

First Operation with the JET ITER-Like Wall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neu, Rudolf

2012-10-01

To consolidate ITER design choices and prepare for its operation, JET has implemented ITER's plasma facing materials, namely Be at the main wall and W in the divertor. In addition, protection systems, diagnostics and the vertical stability control were upgraded and the heating capability of the neutral beams was increased to over 30 MW. First results confirm the expected benefits and the limitations of all metal plasma facing components (PFCs), but also yield understanding of operational issues directly relating to ITER. H-retention is lower by at least a factor of 10 in all operational scenarios compared to that with C PFCs. The lower C content (˜ factor 10) have led to much lower radiation during the plasma burn-through phase eliminating breakdown failures. Similarly, the intrinsic radiation observed during disruptions is very low, leading to high power loads and to a slow current quench. Massive gas injection using a D2/Ar mixture restores levels of radiation and vessel forces similar to those of mitigated disruptions with the C wall. Dedicated L-H transition experiments indicate a reduced power threshold by 30%, a distinct minimum density and pronounced shape dependence. The L-mode density limit was found up to 30% higher than for C allowing stable detached divertor operation over a larger density range. Stable H-modes as well as the hybrid scenario could be only re-established when using gas puff levels of a few 10^21e/s. On average the confinement is lower with the new PFCs, but nevertheless, H factors around 1 (H-Mode) and 1.2 (at βN˜3, Hybrids) have been achieved with W concentrations well below the maximum acceptable level (<10-5).

Practical Design and Applications of Ultrafast Semiconductor Disk Lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baker, Caleb W.

Vertical External Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VECSELs) have become well established in recent years for their design flexibility and promising power scalability. Recent efforts in VECSEL development have focused heavily on expanding the medium into the ultrafast regime of modelocked operation. Presented in this thesis is a detailed discussion regarding the development of ultrafast VECSEL devices. Achievements in continuous wave (CW) operation will be highlighted, followed by several chapters detailing the engineering challenges and design solutions which enable modelocked operation of VECSELs in the ultrafast regime, including the design of the saturable absorbers used to enforce modelocking, management of the net group delay dispersion (GDD) inside the cavity, and the design of the active region to support pulse durations on the order of 100 fs. Work involving specific applications - VECSELs emitting on multiple wavelengths simultaneously and the use of VECSEL seed oscillators for amplification and spectral broadening - will also be presented. Key experimental results will include a novel multi-fold cavity design that produced record-setting peak powers of 6.3 kW from a modelocked VECSEL, an octave-spanning supercontinuum with an average power of 2 W generated using a VECSEL seed and a 2-stage Yb fiber amplifier, and two separate experiments where a VECSEL was made to emit on multiple wavelengths simultaneously in modelocked and highly stable CW operation, respectively. Further, many diagnostic and characterization measurements will be presented, most notably the in-situ probing of a VECSEL gain medium during stable modelocked operation with temporal resolution on the order of 100 fs, but also including characterization of the relaxation rates in different saturable absorber designs and the effectiveness of different methods for managing the net GDD of a device.

Development of new S-band SLED for PAL-XFEL Linac

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joo, Youngdo; Park, Yongjung; Heo, Hoon; Heo, Jinyul; Park, Sung-Soo; Kim, Sang-Hee; Kim, Kwang-Hoon; Kang, Heung-Sik; Lee, Heung-Soo; Noh, Sungju; Oh, Kyoungmin

2017-01-01

In order to achieve beam acceleration to the beam energy of 10 GeV at the end of its 716 m-long linear accelerator (Linac), the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory X-ray Free Electron Laser (PAL-XFEL) is going to operate the Stanford Linear Accelerator Energy Doubler (SLED) at the maximum klystron output peak power of 80 MW, with a pulse length of 4 μs, and at a repetition rate of 60 Hz. The original SLED that had been used in Pohang Light Source-II (PLS-II) can no longer sustain such a high-power operation because excessive radiation caused by RF breakdown has been frequently detected even at the lower klystron peak power during the PLS-II operation. Therefore, a new SLED is designed by modifying both the 3-dB power hybrid and the waveguide-cavity coupling structure of the original SLED where the excessive radiation has been mainly detected. The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation in the CST Microwave Studio shows that the new SLED has a peak electric field and a surface current lower than those of the original SLED at the same level of the RF input peak power, which would secure stable high-power operation. All of the 42 SLEDs in the PAL-XFEL Linac are newly fabricated and installed. During the RF conditioning of the PAL-XFEL Linac, no significant vacuum and radiation issue was found in the new SLEDs. Finally, the accelerated electron beam energy of 10 GeV obtained at the end of the PAL-XFEL Linac verified that the RF performance of the new SLED is stable.

Atomic Layer Deposition of Stable LiAlF4 Lithium Ion Conductive Interfacial Layer for Stable Cathode Cycling.

PubMed

Xie, Jin; Sendek, Austin D; Cubuk, Ekin D; Zhang, Xiaokun; Lu, Zhiyi; Gong, Yongji; Wu, Tong; Shi, Feifei; Liu, Wei; Reed, Evan J; Cui, Yi

2017-07-25

Modern lithium ion batteries are often desired to operate at a wide electrochemical window to maximize energy densities. While pushing the limit of cutoff potentials allows batteries to provide greater energy densities with enhanced specific capacities and higher voltage outputs, it raises key challenges with thermodynamic and kinetic stability in the battery. This is especially true for layered lithium transition-metal oxides, where capacities can improve but stabilities are compromised as wider electrochemical windows are applied. To overcome the above-mentioned challenges, we used atomic layer deposition to develop a LiAlF 4 solid thin film with robust stability and satisfactory ion conductivity, which is superior to commonly used LiF and AlF 3 . With a predicted stable electrochemical window of approximately 2.0 ± 0.9 to 5.7 ± 0.7 V vs Li + /Li for LiAlF 4 , excellent stability was achieved for high Ni content LiNi 0.8 Mn 0.1 Co 0.1 O 2 electrodes with LiAlF 4 interfacial layer at a wide electrochemical window of 2.75-4.50 V vs Li + /Li.

A stable wavelength-tunable triggered source of single photons and cascaded photon pairs at the telecom C-band

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeuner, Katharina D.; Paul, Matthias; Lettner, Thomas; Reuterskiöld Hedlund, Carl; Schweickert, Lucas; Steinhauer, Stephan; Yang, Lily; Zichi, Julien; Hammar, Mattias; Jöns, Klaus D.; Zwiller, Val

2018-04-01

The implementation of fiber-based long-range quantum communication requires tunable sources of single photons at the telecom C-band. Stable and easy-to-implement wavelength-tunability of individual sources is crucial to (i) bring remote sources into resonance, (ii) define a wavelength standard, and (iii) ensure scalability to operate a quantum repeater. So far, the most promising sources for true, telecom single photons are semiconductor quantum dots, due to their ability to deterministically and reliably emit single and entangled photons. However, the required wavelength-tunability is hard to attain. Here, we show a stable wavelength-tunable quantum light source by integrating strain-released InAs quantum dots on piezoelectric substrates. We present triggered single-photon emission at 1.55 μm with a multi-photon emission probability as low as 0.097, as well as photon pair emission from the radiative biexciton-exciton cascade. We achieve a tuning range of 0.25 nm which will allow us to spectrally overlap remote quantum dots or tuning distant quantum dots into resonance with quantum memories. This opens up realistic avenues for the implementation of photonic quantum information processing applications at telecom wavelengths.

LCL: (Locked Cheek Lift) Three-Dimensional Cheek Lift and Inferior Palpebral Rejuvenation.

PubMed

Divaris, Marc; Sabri, Ebaa; Cancemi, Gianfranco; Daury, Richard

2018-06-01

Many recent advances in face lift techniques have been made to reverse the aging process of the mid-face. In this study, we present a new technique by which mid-face rejuvenation can be achieved in double-angle vectors and allows adaption to the underlying bony structure. The locked cheek lift (LCL) allows effective, simple and rapid lifting of the malar fat pad in two planes. Correction of the curvature of the face and reduction of the height of lid cheek junction distance can be achieved without an incision at the lower eyelid. In total, 115 patients (77 females and 38 males) have been operated on using the LCL technique by a single surgeon; patient ages ranged between 37 and 71 years old (average = 51). Follow-up was performed by the same team for a year postoperatively. The facial expression and lid cheek distance have been evaluated during this period. After a year from the operation, the lid cheek distance correction was maintained in 95.7% of the cases, with stable position of the ascended malar fat pad. Postoperative edema and ecchymosis were limited. LCL is an effective, simple and rapid surgical technique, which is capable of correcting the cheek gravitational migration, reducing the lid cheek distance (LCD), maintaining the ascended stable malar fat pad for a long time with a short recovery period and minimal risk of complications. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Achieving comb formation over the entire lasing range of quantum cascade lasers.

PubMed

Yang, Yang; Burghoff, David; Reno, John; Hu, Qing

2017-10-01

Frequency combs based on quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) are finding promising applications in high-speed broadband spectroscopy in the terahertz regime, where many molecules have their "fingerprints." To form stable combs in QCLs, an effective control of group velocity dispersion plays a critical role. The dispersion of the QCL cavity has two main parts: a static part from the material and a dynamic part from the intersubband transitions. Unlike the gain, which is clamped to a fixed value above the lasing threshold, dispersion associated with the intersubband transitions changes with bias, even above the threshold, and this reduces the dynamic range of comb formation. Here, by incorporating tunability into the dispersion compensator, we demonstrate a QCL device exhibiting comb operation from I th to I max , which greatly expands the operation range of the frequency combs.

Newton Output Blocking Force under Low-Voltage Stimulation for Carbon Nanotube-Electroactive Polymer Composite Artificial Muscles.

PubMed

Chen, I-Wen Peter; Yang, Ming-Chia; Yang, Chia-Hui; Zhong, Dai-Xuan; Hsu, Ming-Chun; Chen, YiWen

2017-02-15

This is a study on the development of carbon nanotube-based composite actuators using a new ionic liquid-doped electroactive ionic polymer. For scalable production purposes, a simple hot-pressing method was used. Carbon nanotube/ionic liquid-Nafion/carbon nanotube composite films were fabricated that exhibited a large output blocking force and a stable cycling life with low alternating voltage stimuli in air. Of particular interest and importance, a blocking force of 1.5 N was achieved at an applied voltage of 6 V. Operational durability was confirmed by testing in air for over 30 000 cycles (or 43 h). The superior actuation performance of the carbon nanotube/ionic liquid-Nafion/carbon nanotube composite, coupled with easy manufacturability, low driving voltage, and reliable operation, promises great potential for artificial muscle and biomimetic applications.

Integrating enzyme immobilization and protein engineering: An alternative path for the development of novel and improved industrial biocatalysts.

PubMed

Bernal, Claudia; Rodríguez, Karen; Martínez, Ronny

2018-06-09

Enzyme immobilization often achieves reusable biocatalysts with improved operational stability and solvent resistance. However, these modifications are generally associated with a decrease in activity or detrimental modifications in catalytic properties. On the other hand, protein engineering aims to generate enzymes with increased performance at specific conditions by means of genetic manipulation, directed evolution and rational design. However, the achieved biocatalysts are generally generated as soluble enzymes, -thus not reusable- and their performance under real operational conditions is uncertain. Combined protein engineering and enzyme immobilization approaches have been employed as parallel or consecutive strategies for improving an enzyme of interest. Recent reports show efforts on simultaneously improving both enzymatic and immobilization components through genetic modification of enzymes and optimizing binding chemistry for site-specific and oriented immobilization. Nonetheless, enzyme engineering and immobilization are usually performed as separate workflows to achieve improved biocatalysts. In this review, we summarize and discuss recent research aiming to integrate enzyme immobilization and protein engineering and propose strategies to further converge protein engineering and enzyme immobilization efforts into a novel "immobilized biocatalyst engineering" research field. We believe that through the integration of both enzyme engineering and enzyme immobilization strategies, novel biocatalysts can be obtained, not only as the sum of independently improved intrinsic and operational properties of enzymes, but ultimately tailored specifically for increased performance as immobilized biocatalysts, potentially paving the way for a qualitative jump in the development of efficient, stable biocatalysts with greater real-world potential in challenging bioprocess applications. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Microwave-Assisted Ignition for Improved Internal Combustion Engine Efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeFilippo, Anthony Cesar

The ever-present need for reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with transportation motivates this investigation of a novel ignition technology for internal combustion engine applications. Advanced engines can achieve higher efficiencies and reduced emissions by operating in regimes with diluted fuel-air mixtures and higher compression ratios, but the range of stable engine operation is constrained by combustion initiation and flame propagation when dilution levels are high. An advanced ignition technology that reliably extends the operating range of internal combustion engines will aid practical implementation of the next generation of high-efficiency engines. This dissertation contributes to next-generation ignition technology advancement by experimentally analyzing a prototype technology as well as developing a numerical model for the chemical processes governing microwave-assisted ignition. The microwave-assisted spark plug under development by Imagineering, Inc. of Japan has previously been shown to expand the stable operating range of gasoline-fueled engines through plasma-assisted combustion, but the factors limiting its operation were not well characterized. The present experimental study has two main goals. The first goal is to investigate the capability of the microwave-assisted spark plug towards expanding the stable operating range of wet-ethanol-fueled engines. The stability range is investigated by examining the coefficient of variation of indicated mean effective pressure as a metric for instability, and indicated specific ethanol consumption as a metric for efficiency. The second goal is to examine the factors affecting the extent to which microwaves enhance ignition processes. The factors impacting microwave enhancement of ignition processes are individually examined, using flame development behavior as a key metric in determining microwave effectiveness. Further development of practical combustion applications implementing microwave-assisted spark technology will benefit from predictive models which include the plasma processes governing the observed combustion enhancement. This dissertation documents the development of a chemical kinetic mechanism for the plasma-assisted combustion processes relevant to microwave-assisted spark ignition. The mechanism includes an existing mechanism for gas-phase methane oxidation, supplemented with electron impact reactions, cation and anion chemical reactions, and reactions involving vibrationally-excited and electronically-excited species. Calculations using the presently-developed numerical model explain experimentally-observed trends, highlighting the relative importance of pressure, temperature, and mixture composition in determining the effectiveness of microwave-assisted ignition enhancement.

Sensitive gas analysis system on a microchip and application for on-site monitoring of NH3 in a clean room.

PubMed

Hiki, Shinichiro; Mawatari, Kazuma; Aota, Arata; Saito, Maki; Kitamori, Takehiko

2011-06-15

A portable, highly sensitive, and continuous ammonia gas monitoring system was developed with a microfluidic chip. The system consists of a main unit, a gas pumping unit, and a computer which serves as an operation console. The size of the system is 45 cm width × 30 cm depth × 30 cm height, and the portable system was realized. A highly efficient and stable extraction method was developed by utilizing an annular gas/liquid laminar flow. In addition, a stable gas/liquid separation method with a PTFE membrane was developed by arranging a fluidic network in three dimensions to achieve almost zero dead volume at the gas/liquid extraction part. The extraction rate was almost 100% with a liquid flow rate of 3.5 μL/min and a gas flow rate of 100 mL/min (contact time of ~15 ms), and the concentration factor was 200 times by calculating the NH(3) concentration (w/w unit) in the gas and liquid phases. Stable phase separation and detection was sustained for more than 3 weeks in an automated operation, which was sufficient for the monitoring application. The lower limit of detection calculated based on a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 was 84 ppt, which showed good detectability for NH(3) analysis. We believe that our system is a very powerful tool for gas analysis due to the advantages of portable size, high sensitivity, and continuous monitoring, and it is particularly useful in the semiconductor field.

Sustaining Software-Intensive Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-05-01

2.2 Multi- Service Operational Test and Evaluation .......................................4 2.3 Stable Software Baseline...or equivalent document • completed Multi- Service Operational Test and Evaluation (MOT&E) for the potential production software package (or OT&E if...not multi- service ) • stable software production baseline • complete and current software documentation • Authority to Operate (ATO) for an

A compact control system to achieve stable voltage and low jitter trigger for repetitive intense electron-beam accelerator based on resonant charging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, Yongfeng; Liu, Jinliang; Yang, Jianhua; Cheng, Xinbing; Yang, Xiao

2017-08-01

A compact control system based on Delphi and Field Programmable Gate Array(FPGA) is developed for a repetitive intense electron-beam accelerator(IEBA), whose output power is 10GW and pulse duration is 160ns. The system uses both hardware and software solutions. It comprises a host computer, a communication module and a main control unit. A device independent applications programming interface, devised using Delphi, is installed on the host computer. Stability theory of voltage in repetitive mode is analyzed and a detailed overview of the hardware and software configuration is presented. High voltage experiment showed that the control system fulfilled the requests of remote operation and data-acquisition. The control system based on a time-sequence control method is used to keep constant of the voltage of the primary capacitor in every shot, which ensured the stable and reliable operation of the electron beam accelerator in the repetitive mode during the experiment. Compared with the former control system based on Labview and PIC micro-controller developed in our laboratory, the present one is more compact, and with higher precision in the time dimension. It is particularly useful for automatic control of IEBA in the high power microwave effects research experiments where pulse-to-pulse reproducibility is required.

[Arthrodesis of the shoulder. A new and soft-tissue-sparing technique with a deep locking plate in the supraspinatus fossa].

PubMed

Klonz, A; Habermeyer, P

2007-10-01

Arthrodesis of the glenohumeral joint is a difficult intervention that involves a relatively high probability of complications. A stable internal fixation and secure consolidation is required. The operation needs to achieve several conditions: thorough denudation of the cartilage and partial decortication of the subchondral bone; good congruence of the corresponding surfaces; compression of the gap by tension screws and lasting stability. For increased primary stability a neutralizing plate is generally used as well as a compression screw. Up to now, the plate has usually been applied starting from the scapular spine and extending across the acromial corner to the humeral shaft. A wide exposure is needed for this procedure; the plate is difficult to shape during the operation and often causes some discomfort because it protrudes at the acromial corner. We present an alternative position of the plate in the supraspinatus fossa, where we have sited a 4.5 mm LCP locking plate (Synthes). The implant is inserted under the acromion, does not cause any discomfort at the acromial corner, and is far easier to shape. When it is used in association with a transarticular compressive screw, the technique results in a very stable situation, which allows physiotherapy from the first day after surgery onward.

Design techniques for a stable operation of cryogenic field-programmable gate arrays.

PubMed

Homulle, Harald; Visser, Stefan; Patra, Bishnu; Charbon, Edoardo

2018-01-01

In this paper, we show how a deep-submicron field-programmable gate array (FPGA) can be operated more stably at extremely low temperatures through special firmware design techniques. Stability at low temperatures is limited through long power supply wires and reduced performance of various printed circuit board components commonly employed at room temperature. Extensive characterization of these components shows that the majority of decoupling capacitor types and voltage regulators are not well behaved at cryogenic temperatures, asking for an ad hoc solution to stabilize the FPGA supply voltage, especially for sensitive applications. Therefore, we have designed a firmware that enforces a constant power consumption, so as to stabilize the supply voltage in the interior of the FPGA. The FPGA is powered with a supply at several meters distance, causing significant resistive voltage drop and thus fluctuations on the local supply voltage. To achieve the stabilization, the variation in digital logic speed, which directly corresponds to changes in supply voltage, is constantly measured and corrected for through a tunable oscillator farm, implemented on the FPGA. The impact of the stabilization technique is demonstrated together with a reconfigurable analog-to-digital converter (ADC), completely implemented in the FPGA fabric and operating at 15 K. The ADC performance can be improved by at most 1.5 bits (effective number of bits) thanks to the more stable supply voltage. The method is versatile and robust, enabling seamless porting to other FPGA families and configurations.

Design techniques for a stable operation of cryogenic field-programmable gate arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Homulle, Harald; Visser, Stefan; Patra, Bishnu; Charbon, Edoardo

2018-01-01

In this paper, we show how a deep-submicron field-programmable gate array (FPGA) can be operated more stably at extremely low temperatures through special firmware design techniques. Stability at low temperatures is limited through long power supply wires and reduced performance of various printed circuit board components commonly employed at room temperature. Extensive characterization of these components shows that the majority of decoupling capacitor types and voltage regulators are not well behaved at cryogenic temperatures, asking for an ad hoc solution to stabilize the FPGA supply voltage, especially for sensitive applications. Therefore, we have designed a firmware that enforces a constant power consumption, so as to stabilize the supply voltage in the interior of the FPGA. The FPGA is powered with a supply at several meters distance, causing significant resistive voltage drop and thus fluctuations on the local supply voltage. To achieve the stabilization, the variation in digital logic speed, which directly corresponds to changes in supply voltage, is constantly measured and corrected for through a tunable oscillator farm, implemented on the FPGA. The impact of the stabilization technique is demonstrated together with a reconfigurable analog-to-digital converter (ADC), completely implemented in the FPGA fabric and operating at 15 K. The ADC performance can be improved by at most 1.5 bits (effective number of bits) thanks to the more stable supply voltage. The method is versatile and robust, enabling seamless porting to other FPGA families and configurations.

Operative tactics and results of treatment of patients with coxarthrosis secondary to congenital high luxation of hip joints.

PubMed

Król, Roman; Rojewski, Marek; Kamiński, Adam; Popławski, Tomasz

2007-01-01

Treatment of the sequelae of congenital high luxation of the hip joint is a major challenge in prosthetic surgery, demanding from the operator thorough familiarity with the problem and experience in hop reconstructive surgery. The results of 4 years observation, of the treatment of 14 woman in the average age of 38 years old with 18 hip joints with congenital high luxation are presented. In all cases cementless total hip arthroplasty was made. Acetabular component of the prosthesis was implanted correctly and stable in its physiological placement. Femur was shortened average 4 cm and stabilized by cementless press-fit stem of prosthesis. The place of femur osteotomy was covered with autogenic spongy bone from resected caput of femur. The union was achieved after average 10 weeks. In clinical assessment there were obtained 10 very good, 5 good and 3 satisfactory clinical results. There were no superficial or deep infections, no neurological disorders and no loosening of components of implanted prostheses observed. 1. Careful planning and carrying out the operative procedures allow to insert the acetabular component of the prosthesis in its physiological place and achieve good results. 2. Shortening of femur and repositioning of components of prosthesis in 90 degrees knee flexion and also position on broken bed after operative procedure allowed to avoid neurological disorders. 3. Cementless and hydroxyapatite-covered femoral component of the prosthesis correctly stabilize place of femur osteotomy.

Dual-wavelength passively Q-switched ytterbium-doped fiber laser using Fe3O4-nanoparticle saturable absorber and intracavity polarization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Hayali, S. K. M.; Al-Janabi, A. H.

2018-03-01

We have experimentally demonstrated the operation of a dual-wavelength passively Q-switched ytterbium-doped fiber laser by using a saturable absorber (SA) based on Fe3O4 nanoparticles in a magnetic fluid. The SA was fabricated by depositing magnetic fluid at the end of an optical fiber ferrule. By performing adjustments to the pump power and polarization controller state in the cavity, a stable dual-wavelength lasing operation was generated without intracavity spectral filters or modulation elements. The Q-switched laser output was achieved at a pump threshold of 80 mW with a maximum output pulse energy of 38.8 nJ, a repetition rate of 73.4 kHz and a minimum pulse width of 3.4 µs. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a dual-wavelength passively Q-switched fiber laser using Fe3O4 nanoparticles as the SA in the 1.0 µm operation region.

Post carbon removal nitrifying MBBR operation at high loading and exposure to starvation conditions.

PubMed

Young, Bradley; Delatolla, Robert; Kennedy, Kevin; LaFlamme, Edith; Stintzi, Alain

2017-09-01

This study investigates the performance of MBBR nitrifying biofilm post carbon removal at high loading and starvation conditions. The nitrifying MBBR, treating carbon removal lagoon effluent, achieved a maximum SARR of 2.13gN/m 2 d with complete conversion of ammonia to nitrate. The results also show the MBBR technology is capable of maintaining a stable biofilm under starvation conditions in systems that nitrify intermittently. The biomass exhibited a higher live fraction of total cells in the high loaded reactors (73-100%) as compared to the reactors operated in starvation condition (26-82%). For both the high loaded and starvation condition, the microbial communities significantly changed with time of operation. The nitrifying community, however, remained steady with the family Nitrosomonadacea as the primary AOBs and Nitrospira as the primary NOB. During starvation conditions, the relative abundance of AOBs decreased and Nitrospira increased corresponding to an NOB/AOB ratio of 5.2-12.1. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Vortex operation in Er:LuYAG crystal laser at ∼1.6 μm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Qiyao; Zhao, Yongguang; Zhou, Wei; Shen, Deyuan

2017-09-01

An Er3+-doped Lu1.5Y1.5Al5O12 (Er:LuYAG) solid-state laser with direct generation of optical vortex is reported. The vortex laser operation was realized through being pumped by an annular beam at 1532 nm, which was reformatted by a specially fabricated optical mirror. With two different laser output couplers of 10% and 20% transmissions, pure LG01 mode lasers with right-handedness at 1647.7 nm and 1619.5 nm were yielded from a simple two-mirror cavity, respectively, without any helicity control optical element. Furthermore, stable pulse trains at 1647.7 nm have been achieved via employing an acousto-optic Q-switch, and ∼0.66 mJ pulsed energy and ∼65 ns pulse duration were finally obtained at 1 kHz repetition rate, corresponding to a peak power of ∼10.2 kW. The generated pulse vortex maintained LG01 mode with well-determined right-handedness, as in the case of cw laser operation.

Self-mode-locked AlGaInP-VECSEL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bek, R.; Großmann, M.; Kahle, H.; Koch, M.; Rahimi-Iman, A.; Jetter, M.; Michler, P.

2017-10-01

We report the mode-locked operation of an AlGaInP-based semiconductor disk laser without a saturable absorber. The active region containing 20 GaInP quantum wells is used in a linear cavity with a curved outcoupling mirror. The gain chip is optically pumped by a 532 nm laser, and mode-locking is achieved by carefully adjusting the pump spot size. For a pump power of 6.8 W, an average output power of up to 30 mW is reached at a laser wavelength of 666 nm. The pulsed emission is characterized using a fast oscilloscope and a spectrum analyzer, demonstrating stable single-pulse operation at a repetition rate of 3.5 GHz. Intensity autocorrelation measurements reveal a FWHM pulse duration of 22 ps with an additional coherence peak on top, indicating noise-like pulses. The frequency spectrum, as well as the Gaussian beam profile and the measured beam propagation factor below 1.1, shows no influence of higher order transverse modes contributing to the mode-locked operation.

Industrial Application Study on New-Type Mixed-Flow Fluidized Bed Bottom Ash Cooler

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, B.; Lu, X. F.; Liu, H. Z.

As a key auxiliary device of CFB boiler, the bottom ash cooler (BAC) has a direct influence on secure and economic operation of the boiler. The operating situation of domestic CFB power plant is complex and changeable with a bad coal-fired condition. The principle for designing BAC suitable for the bad coal-fired condition and high parameter CFB boilers was summarized in this paper. Meanwhile, a new-type mixed-flow fluidized bed bottom ash cooler was successfully designed on the basis of the comprehensive investigation on the existing BAC s merits and drawbacks. Using coarse/fine slag separation technology and micro-bubbling fluidization are the significant characteristics of this new BAC. This paper also puts great emphasis on its industrial test in a 460t/h CFB boiler. The results indicate that it achieves significant separation of the coarse/fine slag, an obvious cooling effect, no slag block and coking phenomenon, and continuous stable operation. Figs 7, Tabs 4 and Refs 11.

Multi-arm multilateral haptics-based immersive tele-robotic system (HITS) for improvised explosive device disposal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erickson, David; Lacheray, Hervé; Lai, Gilbert; Haddadi, Amir

2014-06-01

This paper presents the latest advancements of the Haptics-based Immersive Tele-robotic System (HITS) project, a next generation Improvised Explosive Device (IED) disposal (IEDD) robotic interface containing an immersive telepresence environment for a remotely-controlled three-articulated-robotic-arm system. While the haptic feedback enhances the operator's perception of the remote environment, a third teleoperated dexterous arm, equipped with multiple vision sensors and cameras, provides stereo vision with proper visual cues, and a 3D photo-realistic model of the potential IED. This decentralized system combines various capabilities including stable and scaled motion, singularity avoidance, cross-coupled hybrid control, active collision detection and avoidance, compliance control and constrained motion to provide a safe and intuitive control environment for the operators. Experimental results and validation of the current system are presented through various essential IEDD tasks. This project demonstrates that a two-armed anthropomorphic Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) robot interface can achieve complex neutralization techniques against realistic IEDs without the operator approaching at any time.

High-density carrier-accumulated and electrically stable oxide thin-film transistors from ion-gel gate dielectric

PubMed Central

Fujii, Mami N.; Ishikawa, Yasuaki; Miwa, Kazumoto; Okada, Hiromi; Uraoka, Yukiharu; Ono, Shimpei

2015-01-01

The use of indium–gallium–zinc oxide (IGZO) has paved the way for high-resolution uniform displays or integrated circuits with transparent and flexible devices. However, achieving highly reliable devices that use IGZO for low-temperature processes remains a technological challenge. We propose the use of IGZO thin-film transistors (TFTs) with an ionic-liquid gate dielectric in order to achieve high-density carrier-accumulated IGZO TFTs with high reliability, and we discuss a distinctive mechanism for the degradation of this organic–inorganic hybrid device under long-term electrical stress. Our results demonstrated that an ionic liquid or gel gate dielectric provides highly reliable and low-voltage operation with IGZO TFTs. Furthermore, high-density carrier accumulation helps improve the TFT characteristics and reliability, and it is highly relevant to the electronic phase control of oxide materials and the degradation mechanism for organic–inorganic hybrid devices. PMID:26677773

High-density carrier-accumulated and electrically stable oxide thin-film transistors from ion-gel gate dielectric.

PubMed

Fujii, Mami N; Ishikawa, Yasuaki; Miwa, Kazumoto; Okada, Hiromi; Uraoka, Yukiharu; Ono, Shimpei

2015-12-18

The use of indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO) has paved the way for high-resolution uniform displays or integrated circuits with transparent and flexible devices. However, achieving highly reliable devices that use IGZO for low-temperature processes remains a technological challenge. We propose the use of IGZO thin-film transistors (TFTs) with an ionic-liquid gate dielectric in order to achieve high-density carrier-accumulated IGZO TFTs with high reliability, and we discuss a distinctive mechanism for the degradation of this organic-inorganic hybrid device under long-term electrical stress. Our results demonstrated that an ionic liquid or gel gate dielectric provides highly reliable and low-voltage operation with IGZO TFTs. Furthermore, high-density carrier accumulation helps improve the TFT characteristics and reliability, and it is highly relevant to the electronic phase control of oxide materials and the degradation mechanism for organic-inorganic hybrid devices.

Cover-layer with High Refractive Index for Near-Field Recording Media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jin-Hong; Lee, Jun-Seok

2007-06-01

TiO2 nanoparticles are added into UV-curable resin to increase the refractive index of the cover-layer laminated for cover-layer incident near-field recording media. A high refractive index is required for the cover-layer operating with an optical head with a high numerical aperture. The eye pattern from a cover-layer coated 20 GB read-only memory disc in which the refractive index of the cover-layer is 1.75 is achieved, but the gap servo is unstable owing to the rough surface of the cover-layer. Even though the light loss due to the nanoparticles is negligible, a rough microstructure is developed by adding the nanoparticles into an organic binder material. To achieve a smooth surface for a stable gap servo, the solubility of the nanoparticles should be enhanced by the optimization of the surface of the nanoparticles.

Cover-Layer with High Refractive Index for Near-Field Recording Media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jin-Hong; Lee, Jun-Seok

2007-06-01

TiO2 nanoparticles are added into UV-curable resin to increase the refractive index of the cover-layer laminated for cover-layer incident near-field recording media. A high refractive index is required for the cover-layer operating with an optical head with a high numerical aperture. The eye pattern from a cover-layer coated 20 GB read-only memory disc in which the refractive index of the cover-layer is 1.75 is achieved, but the gap servo is unstable owing to the rough surface of the cover-layer. Even though the light loss due to the nanoparticles is negligible, a rough microstructure is developed by adding the nanoparticles into an organic binder material. To achieve a smooth surface for a stable gap servo, the solubility of the nanoparticles should be enhanced by the optimization of the surface of the nanoparticles.

Application of double laser interferometer in the measurement of translational stages' roll characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Tao; Shen, Lu; Ke, Youlong; Hou, Wenmei; Ju, Aisong; Yang, Wei; Luo, Jialin

2016-10-01

In order to achieve rapid measurement of larger travel translation stages' roll-angle error in industry and to study the roll characteristics, this paper designs a small roll-angle measurement system based on laser heterodyne interferometry technology, test and researched on the roll characteristics of ball screw linear translation stage to fill the blank of the market. The results show that: during the operation of the ball screw linear translation stage, the workbench's roll angle changes complexly, its value is not only changing with different positions, but also shows different levels of volatility, what's more, the volatility varies with the workbench's work speed . Because of the non uniform stiffness of ball screw, at the end of each movement, the elastic potential energy being stored from the working process should release slowly, and the workbench will cost a certain time to roll fluctuate before it achieves a stable tumbling again.

Achievable flatness in a large microwave power transmitting antenna

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ried, R. C.

1980-01-01

A dual reference SPS system with pseudoisotropic graphite composite as a representative dimensionally stable composite was studied. The loads, accelerations, thermal environments, temperatures and distortions were calculated for a variety of operational SPS conditions along with statistical considerations of material properties, manufacturing tolerances, measurement accuracy and the resulting loss of sight (LOS) and local slope distributions. A LOS error and a subarray rms slope error of two arc minutes can be achieved with a passive system. Results show that existing materials measurement, manufacturing, assembly and alignment techniques can be used to build the microwave power transmission system antenna structure. Manufacturing tolerance can be critical to rms slope error. The slope error budget can be met with a passive system. Structural joints without free play are essential in the assembly of the large truss structure. Variations in material properties, particularly for coefficient of thermal expansion from part to part, is more significant than actual value.

Design and overall performance of four highly loaded, high speed inlet stages for an advanced high-pressure-ratio core compressor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reid, L.; Moore, R. D.

1978-01-01

The detailed design and overall performances of four inlet stages for an advanced core compressor are presented. These four stages represent two levels of design total pressure ratio (1.82 and 2.05), two levels of rotor aspect ratio (1.19 and 1.63), and two levels of stator aspect ratio (1.26 and 1.78). The individual stages were tested over the stable operating flow range at 70, 90, and 100 percent of design speeds. The performances of the low aspect ratio configurations were substantially better than those of the high aspect ratio configurations. The two low aspect ratio configurations achieved peak efficiencies of 0.876 and 0.872 and corresponding stage efficiencies of 0.845 and 0.840. The high aspect ratio configurations achieved peak ratio efficiencies of 0.851 and 0.849 and corresponding stage efficiencies of 0.821 and 0.831.

Field trial of differential-phase-shift quantum key distribution using polarization independent frequency up-conversion detectors.

PubMed

Honjo, T; Yamamoto, S; Yamamoto, T; Kamada, H; Nishida, Y; Tadanaga, O; Asobe, M; Inoue, K

2007-11-26

We report a field trial of differential phase shift quantum key distribution (QKD) using polarization independent frequency up-conversion detectors. A frequency up-conversion detector is a promising device for achieving a high key generation rate when combined with a high clock rate QKD system. However, its polarization dependence prevents it from being applied to practical QKD systems. In this paper, we employ a modified polarization diversity configuration to eliminate the polarization dependence. Applying this method, we performed a long-term stability test using a 17.6-km installed fiber. We successfully demonstrated stable operation for 6 hours and achieved a sifted key generation rate of 120 kbps and an average quantum bit error rate of 3.14 %. The sifted key generation rate was not the estimated value but the effective value, which means that the sifted key was continuously generated at a rate of 120 kbps for 6 hours.

Latest performance of ArF immersion scanner NSR-S630D for high-volume manufacturing for 7nm node

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Funatsu, Takayuki; Uehara, Yusaku; Hikida, Yujiro; Hayakawa, Akira; Ishiyama, Satoshi; Hirayama, Toru; Kono, Hirotaka; Shirata, Yosuke; Shibazaki, Yuichi

2015-03-01

In order to achieve stable operation in cutting-edge semiconductor manufacturing, Nikon has developed NSR-S630D with extremely accurate overlay while maintaining throughput in various conditions resembling a real production environment. In addition, NSR-S630D has been equipped with enhanced capabilities to maintain long-term overlay stability and user interface improvement all due to our newly developed application software platform. In this paper, we describe the most recent S630D performance in various conditions similar to real productions. In a production environment, superior overlay accuracy with high dose conditions and high throughput are often required; therefore, we have performed several experiments with high dose conditions to demonstrate NSR's thermal aberration capabilities in order to achieve world class overlay performance. Furthermore, we will introduce our new software that enables long term overlay performance.

Stable, inflatable life raft for high seas rescue operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barnett, J. H., Jr.; Harrison, F.; Marak, R.; Radnofsky, M. I.

1971-01-01

Raft is easily deployed and highly maneuverable in water. It has false bottom of water ballast containers attached to underside, making it exceptionally stable platform from which swimmers can operate. Raft is attachable to external moorings.

Sustainable water desalination and electricity generation in a separator coupled stacked microbial desalination cell with buffer free electrolyte circulation.

PubMed

Chen, Xi; Liang, Peng; Wei, Zhimou; Zhang, Xiaoyuan; Huang, Xia

2012-09-01

A separator coupled circulation stacked microbial desalination cell (c-SMDC-S) was constructed to stabilize the pH imbalances in MDCs without buffer solution and achieved the stable desalination. The long-term operation of c-SMDC-S, regular stacked MDC (SMDC) and no separator coupled circulation SMDC (c-SMDC) were tested. The SMDC and c-SMDC could only stably operate for 1 week and 1 month owing to dramatic anolyte pH decrease and serious biofilm growth on the air cathode, respectively. The c-SMDC-S gained in anolyte alkalinity and operated stably for about 60 days without the thick biofilm growth on cathode. Besides, the chemical oxygen demand removal and coulombic efficiency were 64 ± 6% and 30 ± 2%, higher than that of SMDC and c-SMDC, respectively. It was concluded that the circulation of alkalinity could remove pH imbalance while the separator could expand the operation period and promote the conversion of organic matter to electricity. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

WS₂ as a saturable absorber for ultrafast photonic applications of mode-locked and Q-switched lasers.

PubMed

Wu, Kan; Zhang, Xiaoyan; Wang, Jun; Li, Xing; Chen, Jianping

2015-05-04

Two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials, especially the transition metal sulfide semiconductors, have drawn great interests due to their potential applications in viable photonic and optoelectronic devices. In this work, 2D tungsten disulfide (WS2) based saturable absorber (SA) for ultrafast photonic applications was demonstrated. WS2 nanosheets were prepared using liquid-phase exfoliation method and embedded in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) thin film for the practical usage. Saturable absorption was discovered in the WS2-PVA SA at the telecommunication wavelength near 1550 nm. By incorporating WS2-PVA SA into a fiber laser cavity, both stable mode locking operation and Q-switching operation were achieved. In the mode locking operation, the laser obtained femtosecond output pulse width and high spectral purity in the radio frequency spectrum. In the Q-switching operation, the laser had tunable repetition rate and output pulse energy of a few tens of nano joule. Our findings suggest that few-layer WS2 nanosheets embedded in PVA thin film are promising nonlinear optical materials for ultrafast photonic applications as a mode locker or Q-switcher.

Pico-Kelvin thermometry and temperature stabilization using a resonant optical cavity.

PubMed

Tan, Si; Wang, Suwen; Saraf, Shailendhar; Lipa, John A

2017-02-20

Ultra-high sensitivity temperature sensing and stable thermal control are crucial for many science experiments testing fundamental theories to high precision. Here we report the first pico-kevin scale thermometer operating at room temperature with an exceptionally low theoretical noise figure of ~70pK/Hz at 1 Hz and a high dynamic range of ~500 K. We have experimentally demonstrated a temperature sensitivity of <3.8nK/Hz at 1 Hz near room temperature, which is an order of magnitude improvement over the state of the art. We have also demonstrated an ultra-high stability thermal control system using this thermometer, achieving 3.7 nK stability at 1 s and ∼ 120 pK at 10⁴ s, which is 10-100 times more stable than the state of the art. With some upgrades to this proof-of-principle device, we can expect it to be used for very high resolution tests of special relativity and in critical point phenomena.

Table-top soft x-ray microscope using laser-induced plasma from a pulsed gas jet.

PubMed

Müller, Matthias; Mey, Tobias; Niemeyer, Jürgen; Mann, Klaus

2014-09-22

An extremely compact soft x-ray microscope operating in the "water window" region at the wavelength λ = 2.88 nm is presented, making use of a long-term stable and nearly debris-free laser-induced plasma from a pulsed nitrogen gas jet target. The well characterized soft x-ray radiation is focused by an ellipsoidal grazing incidence condenser mirror. Imaging of a sample onto a CCD camera is achieved with a Fresnel zone plate using magnifications up to 500x. The spatial resolution of the recorded microscopic images is about 100 nm as demonstrated for a Siemens star test pattern.

Sub-femtosecond timing jitter, all-fiber, CNT-mode-locked Er-laser at telecom wavelength.

PubMed

Kim, Chur; Bae, Sangho; Kieu, Khanh; Kim, Jungwon

2013-11-04

We demonstrate a 490-attosecond timing jitter (integration bandwidth: 10 kHz - 39.4 MHz) optical pulse train from a 78.7-MHz repetition rate, all-fiber soliton Er laser mode-locked by a fiber tapered carbon nanotube saturable absorber (ft-CNT-SA). To achieve this jitter performance, we searched for a net cavity dispersion condition where the Gordon-Haus jitter is minimized while maintaining stable soliton mode-locking. Our result shows that optical pulse trains with well below a femtosecond timing jitter can be generated from a self-starting and robust all-fiber laser operating at telecom wavelength.

New multicore low mode noise scrambling fiber for applications in high-resolution spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haynes, Dionne M.; Gris-Sanchez, Itandehui; Ehrlich, Katjana; Birks, Tim A.; Giannone, Domenico; Haynes, Roger

2014-07-01

We present a new type of multicore fiber (MCF) and photonic lantern that consists of 511 individual cores designed to operate over a broadband visible wavelength range (380-860nm). It combines the coupling efficiency of a multimode fiber with modal stability intrinsic to a single mode fibre. It is designed to provide phase and amplitude scrambling to achieve a stable near field and far field illumination pattern during input coupling variations; it also has low modal noise for increased photometric stability. Preliminary results are presented for the new MCF as well as current state of the art octagonal fiber for comparison.

Operational characteristics of Wedge and Strip image readout systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Siegmund, O. H. W.; Lampton, M.; Bixler, J.; Bowyer, S.; Malina, R. F.

1986-01-01

Application of the Wedge and Strip readout system in microchannel plate detectors for the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer and FAUST space astronomy programs is discussed. Anode designs with high resolution (greater than 600 x 600 pixels) in imaging and spectroscopy applications have been developed. Extension of these designs to larger formats (100 mm) with higher resolution (3000 x 3000 pixels) are considered. It is shown that the resolution and imaging are highly stable, and that the flat field performance is essentially limited by photon statistics. Very high speed event response has also been achieved with output pulses having durations of less than 10 nanoseconds.

A Low-cost Environmental Control System for Precise Radial Velocity Spectrometers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sliski, David H.; Blake, Cullen H.; Halverson, Samuel

2017-12-01

We present an environmental control system (ECS) designed to achieve milliKelvin (mK) level temperature stability for small-scale astronomical instruments. This ECS is inexpensive and is primarily built from commercially available components. The primary application for our ECS is the high-precision Doppler spectrometer MINERVA-Red, where the thermal variations of the optical components within the instrument represent a major source of systematic error. We demonstrate ±2 mK temperature stability within a 0.5 m3 thermal enclosure using resistive heaters in conjunction with a commercially available PID controller and off-the-shelf thermal sensors. The enclosure is maintained above ambient temperature, enabling rapid cooling through heat dissipation into the surrounding environment. We demonstrate peak-to-valley (PV) temperature stability of better than 5 mK within the MINERVA-Red vacuum chamber, which is located inside the thermal enclosure, despite large temperature swings in the ambient laboratory environment. During periods of stable laboratory conditions, the PV variations within the vacuum chamber are less than 3 mK. This temperature stability is comparable to the best stability demonstrated for Doppler spectrometers currently achieving m s-1 radial velocity precision. We discuss the challenges of using commercially available thermoelectrically cooled CCD cameras in a temperature-stabilized environment, and demonstrate that the effects of variable heat output from the CCD camera body can be mitigated using PID-controlled chilled water systems. The ECS presented here could potentially provide the stable operating environment required for future compact “astrophotonic” precise radial velocity (PRV) spectrometers to achieve high Doppler measurement precision with a modest budget.

Performance test results of 80 K centrifugal compressor for helium refrigerator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Asakura, H.; Kato, D.; Saji, N.

1994-12-31

The authors have developed a completely oil-free compressor used for the highly reliable helium refrigeration system for a superconducting generator and carried out performance tests under actual condition. The compressor is designed to achieve a pressure ratio of 8 with only 4 stages by cooling the compressor inlet at 80 K with liquid nitrogen, thus acquiring high reliability of long-term maintenance-free operation together with the use of magnetic bearings for oil-free operation. The compressor at each stage is independently driven by a 25 kW built-in motor at the speed of 100,000 rpm, with the power supplied by a variable frequencymore » inverter. The performance test was carried out at each stage, by incorporating the compressor in the closed loop test equipment using helium gas. It was recognized from the test results that the specified pressure ratio of each stage was achieved at the speed below the rated one of 100,000 rpm. It was found that each stage of the compressor has a flat characteristics of adiabatic efficiency over the wide flow range. The mechanical rotation characteristics at low temperatures was also confirmed to be sufficiently stable.« less

A Reactor Development Scenario for the FUZE Shear-flow Stabilized Z-pinch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McLean, H. S.; Higginson, D. P.; Schmidt, A.; Tummel, K. K.; Shumlak, U.; Nelson, B. A.; Claveau, E. L.; Golingo, R. P.; Weber, T. R.

2016-10-01

We present a conceptual design, scaling calculations, and a development path for a pulsed fusion reactor based on the shear-flow-stabilized Z-pinch device. Experiments performed on the ZaP device have demonstrated stable operation for 40 us at 150 kA total discharge current (with 100 kA in the pinch) for pinches that are 1cm in diameter and 100 cm long. Scaling calculations show that achieving stabilization for a pulse of 100 usec, for discharge current 1.5 MA, in a shortened pinch 50 cm, results in a pinch diameter of 200 um and a reactor plant Q 5 for reasonable assumptions of the various system efficiencies. We propose several key intermediate performance levels in order to justify further development. These include achieving operation at pinch currents of 300 kA, where Te and Ti are calculated to exceed 1 keV, 700 kA where fusion power exceeds pinch input power, and 1 MA where fusion energy per pulse exceeds input energy per pulse. This work funded by USDOE ARPAe ALPHA Program and performed under the auspices of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. LLNL-ABS-697801.

Composite three-layer closure of oral antral communication with 10 months follow-up-a case study.

PubMed

Weinstock, Robert J; Nikoyan, Levon; Dym, Harry

2014-02-01

We propose a 3-layer composite closure technique for an oral antral communication (OAC) while avoiding secondary donor site morbidity. A patient had developed a 1-cm OAC after extraction of right maxillary first molar. The patient subsequently developed acute maxillary sinusitis. The patient was taken to the operating room, and a Caldwell-Luc procedure was performed. The bony window from the Caldwell-Luc was "press fit" over the bony OAC defect. Soft tissue closure was then achieved with a buccal fat pad flap and a buccal mucosal advancement flap. The patient was examined on postoperative day 5 and 1, 2, 3, 6, and 10 months postoperatively. The acute sinusitis had resolved. The soft tissue closure was successful. The bone graft remained intact, prevented sinus pneumatization, and restored continuity to the floor of the maxillary sinus. The presented technique for 3-layer closure of OACs allows for the stability of a double-layer closure of OAC with the added benefit of bone grafting from single operative site, achieving stable oral antral closure, bone grafting, and the avoidance of secondary donor site morbidity. Copyright © 2014 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[The new Blood Law and new principles of transfusion therapy].

PubMed

Takahashi, Koki

2005-01-01

The new Blood Law for Self-sufficiency, Stable Supply of Safe Blood Products and Other Transfusion-related Rules was enacted in July 2003. In terms of the safety of blood products, improvement of screening tests and the introduction of the viral nucleic acid amplification test to shorten the so-called window period have markedly reduced the incidence of blood-borne virus transmission, although they cannot completely protect against transfusion-associated adverse reactions. Even with increasing blood safety, there remains an iatrogenic risk of ABO-mismatched transfusions without proper management systems and standard operation procedures. Fresh frozen plasma and plasma derivatives have been and continue to be used much more in Japan compared with the international standard. As a result, the shortage of domestic blood products remains an obstacle to achieving self-sufficiency. The goal of the new law is to provide safe transfusion therapy and achieve self-sufficiency in all blood products including plasma derivatives such as albumin solutions. To reach this goal medical professionals should recognize the necessity for safe and appropriate transfusions and establish new principles for improved transfusion therapy, including standard indications, safe operation procedure guidelines, and a 24-hour management system in each hospital.

Achieving nitritation in a continuous moving bed biofilm reactor at different temperatures through ratio control.

PubMed

Bian, Wei; Zhang, Shuyan; Zhang, Yanzhuo; Li, Wenjing; Kan, Ruizhe; Wang, Wenxiao; Zheng, Zhaoming; Li, Jun

2017-02-01

A ratio control strategy was implemented in a continuous moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) to investigate the response to different temperatures. The control strategy was designed to maintain a constant ratio between dissolved oxygen (DO) and total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) concentrations. The results revealed that a stable nitritation in a biofilm reactor could be achieved via ratio control, which compensated the negative influence of low temperatures by stronger oxygen-limiting conditions. Even with a temperature as low as 6°C, stable nitritation could be achieved when the controlling ratio did not exceed 0.17. Oxygen-limiting conditions in the biofilm reactor were determined by the DO/TAN concentrations ratio, instead of the mere DO concentration. This ratio control strategy allowed the achievement of stable nitritation without complete wash-out of NOB from the reactor. Through the ratio control strategy full nitritation of sidestream wastewater was allowed; however, for mainstream wastewater, only partial nitritation was recommended. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Histological findings in two renal transplants accomplishing operational tolerance criteria

PubMed Central

Azancot, M.A.; Cantarell, C.; Torres, I.B.; Serón, D.R.

2011-01-01

Operational tolerance is defined as stable renal function in transplants without immunosuppression for at least 1 year. We present histological assessments of two patients with operational tolerance. The first withdrew immunosuppression in 2005 and presents stable renal function (creatinine 1.5 mg/dL) without proteinuria. The biopsy showed mild chronic tubulointerstitial changes without inflammation. The second withdrew immunosuppression in 2009 and maintains stable renal function (creatinine 1.6 mg/dL) with mild proteinuria. Histology showed chronic humoural rejection and Class II anti-human leukocyte antigen antibodies were detected. These cases suggest that a renal biopsy may be useful to rule out subclinical pathology in patients with operational tolerance. PMID:25984157

Histological findings in two renal transplants accomplishing operational tolerance criteria.

PubMed

Azancot, M A; Moreso, F; Cantarell, C; Torres, I B; Serón, D R

2011-06-01

Operational tolerance is defined as stable renal function in transplants without immunosuppression for at least 1 year. We present histological assessments of two patients with operational tolerance. The first withdrew immunosuppression in 2005 and presents stable renal function (creatinine 1.5 mg/dL) without proteinuria. The biopsy showed mild chronic tubulointerstitial changes without inflammation. The second withdrew immunosuppression in 2009 and maintains stable renal function (creatinine 1.6 mg/dL) with mild proteinuria. Histology showed chronic humoural rejection and Class II anti-human leukocyte antigen antibodies were detected. These cases suggest that a renal biopsy may be useful to rule out subclinical pathology in patients with operational tolerance.

Novel ternary molten salt electrolytes for intermediate-temperature sodium/nickel chloride batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Guosheng; Lu, Xiaochuan; Coyle, Christopher A.; Kim, Jin Y.; Lemmon, John P.; Sprenkle, Vincent L.; Yang, Zhenguo

2012-12-01

The sodium-nickel chloride (ZEBRA) battery is operated at relatively high temperature (250-350 °C) to achieve adequate electrochemical performance. Reducing the operating temperature in the range of 150200 °C can not only lead to enhanced cycle life by suppressing temperature-related degradations, but also allow the use of lower cost materials for construction. To achieve adequate electrochemical performance at lower operating temperatures, reduction in ohmic losses is required, including the reduced ohmic resistance of β″-alumina solid electrolyte (BASE) and the incorporation of low melting point secondary electrolytes. In present work, planar-type Na/NiCl2 cells with a thin BASE (600 μm) and low melting point secondary electrolyte were evaluated at reduced temperatures. Molten salts used as secondary electrolytes were fabricated by the partial replacement of NaCl in the standard secondary electrolyte (NaAlCl4) with other lower melting point alkali metal salts such as NaBr, LiCl, and LiBr. Electrochemical characterization of these ternary molten salts demonstrated improved ionic conductivity and sufficient electrochemical window at reduced temperatures. Furthermore, Na/NiCl2 cells with 50 mol% NaBr-containing secondary electrolyte exhibited reduced polarizations at 175 °C compared to the cell with the standard NaAlCl4 catholyte. The cells also exhibited stable cycling performance even at 150 °C.

Charge state breeding experiences and plans at TRIUMF

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ames, F., E-mail: ames@triumf.ca; Marchetto, M.; Mjøs, A.

At the Isotope Separation and ACceleration (ISAC) facility at TRIUMF, an electron cyclotron resonance ion source (ECRIS) has been set up for the charge state breeding of radioactive ions. In order to reduce background from stable ions generated in the ECRIS, several measures, including changing materials for the plasma chamber and the surrounding components, have been implemented. Further reduction has been achieved by using the post-accelerator chain as a mass filter. Since the implementation of those measures in 2013, physics experiments with accelerated radioactive isotopes of Rb, Sr, K, and Mg have been performed. In most cases, a charge breedingmore » efficiency of several percent has been achieved. With the planned expansion of the isotope production capabilities at TRIUMF within the Advanced Rare IsotopE Laboratory project, two new target stations, one using photo-fission induced by a high-power electron beam at 50 MeV and the other one using 480 MeV protons as at ISAC, will be put into operation within the next 5 yr. Additionally, a new electron beam ion source (EBIS) based charge state breeding system will be installed. Background from such a source is expected to be much lower. The drawback is that for the efficient operation of such a system, pulsed beam operation is required, which makes the installation of an additional ion buncher in front of the EBIS necessary.« less

Watt-level widely tunable single-mode emission by injection-locking of a multimode Fabry-Perot quantum cascade laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chevalier, Paul; Piccardo, Marco; Anand, Sajant; Mejia, Enrique A.; Wang, Yongrui; Mansuripur, Tobias S.; Xie, Feng; Lascola, Kevin; Belyanin, Alexey; Capasso, Federico

2018-02-01

Free-running Fabry-Perot lasers normally operate in a single-mode regime until the pumping current is increased beyond the single-mode instability threshold, above which they evolve into a multimode state. As a result of this instability, the single-mode operation of these lasers is typically constrained to few percents of their output power range, this being an undesired limitation in spectroscopy applications. In order to expand the span of single-mode operation, we use an optical injection seed generated by an external-cavity single-mode laser source to force the Fabry-Perot quantum cascade laser into a single-mode state in the high current range, where it would otherwise operate in a multimode regime. Utilizing this approach, we achieve single-mode emission at room temperature with a tuning range of 36 cm-1 and stable continuous-wave output power exceeding 1 W at 4.5 μm. Far-field measurements show that a single transverse mode is emitted up to the highest optical power, indicating that the beam properties of the seeded Fabry-Perot laser remain unchanged as compared to free-running operation.

Ptolemy operations at the surface of a comet, from planning to reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morse, A. D.; Andrews, D. J.; Morgan, G. H.; Sheridan, S.; Barber, S. J.; Wright, I. P.

2016-08-01

Ptolemy is a Gas Chromatograph-Isotope Ratio-Mass Spectrometer (GC-IR-MS) aboard the Philae lander element of the Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Developed to determine the chemical and stable light isotopic composition of cometary material, Ptolemy was conceived as a highly flexible instrument able to accommodate changes in operational functionality via software modification. This was considered essential to allow for different modes of operation not only in response to rapid/unexpected changes and opportunities, but also to longer-term shifts in priorities as the overall mission plan (and indeed cometary science in general) changed during the decades from initial concept to landing. Against the backdrop of events of the Philae landing, this paper describes the methods of instrument operation and rational behind them used to achieve the Ptolemy scientific results during the period 12-14th November 2014. In particular we demonstrate the importance of a flexible modular approach to the instrument architecture enabling complex instrument operations, especially in a situation where the environment of exploration is effectively unknown and some of the engineering solutions were being tested in the field for the first time.

High Energy Density Li-ion Cells for EV’s Based on Novel, High Voltage Cathode Material Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kepler, Keith D.; Slater, Michael

This Li-ion cell technology development project had three objectives: to develop advanced electrode materials and cell components to enable stable high-voltage operation; to design and demonstrate a Li-ion cell using these materials that meets the PHEV40 performance targets; and to design and demonstrate a Li-ion cell using these materials that meets the EV performance targets. The major challenge to creating stable high energy cells with long cycle life is system integration. Although materials that can give high energy cells are known, stabilizing them towards long-term cycling in the presence of other novel cell components is a major challenge. The majormore » technical barriers addressed by this work include low cathode specific energy, poor electrolyte stability during high voltage operation, and insufficient capacity retention during deep discharge for Si-containing anodes. Through the course of this project, Farasis was able to improve capacity retention of NCM materials for 4.4+ V operation, through both surface treatment and bulk-doping approaches. Other material advances include increased rate capability and of HE-NCM materials through novel synthesis approach, doubling the relative capacity at 1C over materials synthesized using standard methods. Silicon active materials proved challenging throughout the project and ultimately were the limiting factor in the energy density vs. cycle life trade off. By avoiding silicon anodes for the lower energy PHEV design, we manufactured cells with intermediate energy density and long cycle life under high voltage operation for PHEV applications. Cells with high energy density for EV applications were manufactured targeting a 300 Wh/kg design and were able to achieve > 200 cycles.« less

Selective sequential precipitation of dissolved metals in mine drainage from coal mine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yim, Giljae; Bok, Songmin; Ji, Sangwoo; Oh, Chamteut; Cheong, Youngwook; Han, Youngsoo; Ahn, Joosung

2017-04-01

In abandoned mines in Korea, a large amount of mine drainage continues to flow out and spread pollution. In purification of the mine drainage a massive amount of sludge is generated as waste. Since this metal sludge contains high Fe, Al and Mn oxides, developing the treatment method to recover homogeneous individual metal with high purity may beneficial to recycle waste metals as useful resources and reduce the amount of sludge production. In this regard, we established a dissolved metals selective precipitation process to treat Waryong Industry's mine drainage. The process that selectively precipitates metals dissolved in mine drainage is a continuous Fe-buffer-Al process, and each process consists of the neutralization tank, the coagulation tank, and the settling tank. Based on this process, this study verified the operational applicability of the Fe and Al selective precipitation. Our previous study revealed that high-purity Fe and Al precipitates could be recovered at a flow rate of 1.5 ton/day, while the lower purity was achieved when the rate was increased to about 3 ton/day due to the difficulty in reagent dosage control. In the current study was conducted to increase the capacity of the system to recover Fe and Al as high-purity precipitates at a flow rate of 10 ton/day with the ensured continuous operations by introducing an automatic reagent injection system. The previous study had a difficulty in controlling the pH and operating system continuously due to the manually controlled reagent injection system. To upgrade this and ensure the optimal pH in a stable way, a continuous reagent injection system was installed. The result of operation of the 10 ton/day system confirmed that the scaled-up process could maintain the stable recovery rates and purities of precipitates on site.

A diffusive atmospheric pressure glow discharge in a coaxial pin-to-ring gap with a transverse magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, YongSheng; Ding, WeiDong; Yan, JiaQi; Wang, YaNan

2017-09-01

Atmospheric pressure glow discharge (APGD) has been widely used in the industrial field. The industrial applications are based on achieving stable and diffusive APGD in a relatively large space. The existing sources only achieved stable and diffusive APGD between a short inter-electrode distance within 5 millimeters. In this paper, the effect of a transverse stationary magnetic field on the diffusion of filamentary APGD was studied in a pin-to-ring coaxial gap. The APGD was driven by a high-voltage resonant power supply, and the stationary magnetic field was supplied by a permanent magnet. The stable and diffusive APGD was achieved in the circular area, which diameter was 20 millimeters. The experimental results revealed that more collision ionization occurred and the plasma was distributed diffusively in the discharge gap by applying the external transverse magnetic field. Besides, it is likely to obtain more stable and diffusive APGD in the coaxial pin-to-ring discharge gap when adjusting the input voltage, transverse magnetic flux density and resonant frequency of the power supply.

Subpicosecond thin-disk laser oscillator with pulse energies of up to 25.9 microjoules by use of an active multipass geometry.

PubMed

Neuhaus, Joerg; Bauer, Dominik; Zhang, Jing; Killi, Alexander; Kleinbauer, Jochen; Kumkar, Malte; Weiler, Sascha; Guina, Mircea; Sutter, Dirk H; Dekorsy, Thomas

2008-12-08

The pulse shaping dynamics of a diode-pumped laser oscillator with active multipass cell was studied experimentally and numerically. We demonstrate the generation of high energy subpicosecond pulses with a pulse energy of up to 25.9 microJ at a pulse duration of 928 fs directly from a thin-disk laser oscillator. These results are achieved by employing a selfimaging active multipass geometry operated in ambient atmosphere. Stable single pulse operation has been obtained with an average output power in excess of 76 W and at a repetition rate of 2.93 MHz. Self starting passive mode locking was accomplished using a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror. The experimental results are compared with numerical simulations, showing good agreement including the appearance of Kelly sidebands. Furthermore, a modified soliton-area theorem for approximating the pulse duration is presented. (c) 2008 Optical Society of America

Achieving comb formation over the entire lasing range of quantum cascade lasers

DOE PAGES

Yang, Yang; Burghoff, David; Reno, John; ...

2017-01-01

Frequency combs based on quantum cascade laser (QCL) are finding promising applications in highspeed broadband spectroscopy in the terahertz regime, where many molecules have their "fingerprints". To form stable combs in QCLs, an effective control of group velocity dispersion plays a critical role. The dispersion of the QCL cavity has two main parts: a static part from the material and a dynamic part from the intersubband transitions. Unlike the gain, which is clamped to a fixed value above the lasing threshold, dispersion associated with the intersubband transitions changes with bias even above the threshold, and this reduces the dynamic rangemore » of comb formation. Here, by incorporating tunability into the dispersion compensator, we demonstrate a QCL device exhibiting comb operation from I th to I max, which greatly expands the operation range of the frequency combs.« less

Tunable Q-switched erbium doped fiber laser based on metal transition oxide saturable absorber and refractive index characteristic of multimode interference effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammed, D. Z.; Khaleel, Wurood Abdulkhaleq; Al-Janabi, A. H.

2017-12-01

Ferro-oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles were used as a saturable absorber (SA) for a passively Q-switched erbium doped fiber laser (EDFL) with ring cavity. The Q-switching operation was achieved at a pump threshold of 80 mW. The proposed fiber laser produces stable pulses train of repetition rate ranging from 25 kHz to 80 kHz as the pump power increases from threshold to 342 mW. The minimum recorded pulse width was 2.7 μs at 342 mW. The C-band tunability operation was performed using single mode-multimode-single mode fiber (SM-MM-SM) structure. The laser exhibited a total tuning range of 7 nm, maximum sensitivity of 106.9 nm, optical signal to noise ratio (OSNR) of 38 dB and 3-dB linewidth of 0.06 nm.

408-fs SESAM mode locked Cr:ZnSe laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bu, Xiangbao; Shi, Yuhang; Xu, Jia; Li, Huijuan; Wang, Pu

2018-01-01

We report self-starting femtosecond operation of a 127-MHz SESAM mode locked Cr:ZnSe laser around 2420 nm. A thulium doped double clad fiber laser at 1908 nm was used as the pumping source. In the normal dispersion regime, stable pulse pairs with constant phase differences in the multipulse regime were observed. The maximum output power was 342 mW with respect to incident pump power of 4.8 W and the corresponding slope efficiency was 10.4%. By inserting a piece of sapphire plate, dispersion compensation was achieved and the intra-cavity dispersion was moved to the anomalous regime. A maximum output power of 403 mW was obtained and the corresponding slope efficiency was 12.2%. Pulse width was measured to be 408 fs by a collinear autocorrelator using two-photon absorption in an InGaAs photodiode. The laser spectrum in multipulse operation showed a clear periodic modulation.

In Situ Activation of 3D Porous Bi/Carbon Architectures: Toward High-Energy and Stable Nickel-Bismuth Batteries.

PubMed

Zeng, Yinxiang; Lin, Ziqi; Wang, Zifan; Wu, Mingmei; Tong, Yexiang; Lu, Xihong

2018-05-01

To achieve high-energy and stable aqueous rechargeable batteries, state-of-the art of anode materials are needed. Bismuth (Bi) has recently emerged as an attractive anode material due to its highly reversible redox reaction and suitable negative operating working window. However, the capacity and durability of currently reported Bi anodes are still far from satisfactory. Here, an in situ activation strategy is reported to prepare a 3D porous high-density Bi nanoparticles/carbon architecture (P-Bi-C) as an efficient anode for nickel-bismuth batteries. Taking advantages of the fast channels for charge transfer and ion diffusion, enhanced wettability, and accessible surface area, the highly loaded P-Bi-C electrode delivers a remarkable capacity of 2.11 mA h cm -2 as well as high rate capability (1.19 mA h cm -2 at 120 mA cm -2 ). To highlight, a robust aqueous rechargeable Ni//Bi battery based on the P-Bi-C anode is first constructed, achieving decent capacity (141 mA h g -1 ), impressive durability (94% capacity retention after 5000 cycles), and admirable energy density (16.9 mW h cm -3 ). This work paves the way for designing superfast nickel-bismuth batteries with high energy and long-life and may inspire new development for aqueous rechargeable batteries. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

[How to make your own custom cutting guides for both mandibular and fibular stair step osteotomies?

PubMed

Rem, K; Bosc, R; De Kermadec, H; Hersant, B; Meningaud, J-P

2017-12-01

Using tailored cutting guides for osteocutaneous free fibula flap in complex mandibular reconstruction after cancer resection surgery constitutes a substantial improvement. Autonomously conceiving and manufacturing the cutting guides within a plastic surgery department with computer-aided design (CAD) and three-dimensional (3D) printing allows planning more complex osteotomies, such as stair-step osteotomies, in order to achieve more stable internal fixations. For the past three years, we have been producing by ourselves patient-tailored cutting guides using CAD and 3D printing. Osteotomies were virtually planned, making the cutting lines more complex in order to optimize the internal fixation stability. We also printed reconstructed mandible templates and shaped the reconstruction plates on them. We recorded data including manufacturing techniques and surgical outcomes. Eleven consecutive patients were operated on for an oral cavity cancer. For each patient, we planned the fibular and mandibular stair-step osteotomies and we produced tailored cutting guides. In all patients, we achieved to get immediately stable internal fixations and in 10 patients, a complete bone consolidation after 6 months. Autonomously manufacturing surgical cutting guides for mandibular reconstruction by free fibula flap is a significant improvement, regarding ergonomics and precision. Planning stair-step osteotomies to perform complementary internal fixation increases contact surface and congruence between the bone segments, thus improving the reconstructed mandible stability. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

In-operando hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study on the impact of current compliance and switching cycles on oxygen and carbon defects in resistive switching Ti/HfO{sub 2}/TiN cells

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sowinska, Malgorzata, E-mail: sowinska@ihp-microelectronics.com; Bertaud, Thomas; Walczyk, Damian

2014-05-28

In this study, direct experimental materials science evidence of the important theoretical prediction for resistive random access memory (RRAM) technologies that a critical amount of oxygen vacancies is needed to establish stable resistive switching in metal-oxide-metal samples is presented. In detail, a novel in-operando hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy technique is applied to non-destructively investigates the influence of the current compliance and direct current voltage sweep cycles on the Ti/HfO{sub 2} interface chemistry and physics of resistive switching Ti/HfO{sub 2}/TiN cells. These studies indeed confirm that current compliance is a critical parameter to control the amount of oxygen vacancies in themore » conducting filaments in the oxide layer during the RRAM cell operation to achieve stable switching. Furthermore, clear carbon segregation towards the Ti/HfO{sub 2} interface under electrical stress is visible. Since carbon impurities impact the oxygen vacancy defect population under resistive switching, this dynamic carbon segregation to the Ti/HfO{sub 2} interface is suspected to negatively influence RRAM device endurance. Therefore, these results indicate that the RRAM materials engineering needs to include all impurities in the dielectric layer in order to achieve reliable device performance.« less

Optimised anaerobic treatment of house-sorted biodegradable waste and slaughterhouse waste in a high loaded half technical scale digester.

PubMed

Resch, C; Grasmug, M; Smeets, W; Braun, R; Kirchmayr, R

2006-01-01

Anaerobic co-digestion of organic wastes from households, slaughterhouses and meat processing industries was optimised in a half technical scale plant. The plant was operated for 130 days using two different substrates under organic loading rates of 10 and 12 kgCOD.m(-3).d(-1). Since the substrates were rich in fat and protein components (TKN: 12 g.kg(-1) the treatment was challenging. The process was monitored on-line and in the laboratory. It was demonstrated that an intensive and stable co-digestion of partly hydrolysed organic waste and protein rich slaughterhouse waste can be achieved in the balance of inconsistent pH and buffering NH4-N. In the first experimental period the reduction of the substrate COD was almost complete in an overall stable process (COD reduction >82%). In the second period methane productivity increased, but certain intermediate products accumulated constantly. Process design options for a second digestion phase for advanced degradation were investigated. Potential causes for slow and reduced propionic and valeric acid degradation were assessed. Recommendations for full-scale process implementation can be made from the experimental results reported. The highly loaded and stable codigestion of these substrates may be a good technical and economic treatment alternative.

Metallic Ni3S2 Films Grown by Atomic Layer Deposition as an Efficient and Stable Electrocatalyst for Overall Water Splitting.

PubMed

Ho, Thi Anh; Bae, Changdeuck; Nam, Hochul; Kim, Eunsoo; Lee, Seung Yong; Park, Jong Hyeok; Shin, Hyunjung

2018-04-18

We describe the direct preparation of crystalline Ni 3 S 2 thin films via atomic layer deposition (ALD) techniques at temperatures as low as 250 °C without postthermal treatments. A new ALD chemistry is proposed using bis(1-dimethylamino-2-methyl-2-butoxy) nickel(II) [Ni(dmamb) 2 ] and H 2 S as precursors. Homogeneous and conformal depositions of Ni 3 S 2 films were achieved on 4 in. wafers (both metal and oxide substrates, including Au and SiO 2 ). The resulting crystalline Ni 3 S 2 layers exhibited highly efficient and stable performance as electrocatalysts for both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline solutions, with a low overpotential of 300 mV and a high turnover frequency for HER and an overpotential of 400 mV for OER (at a current density of 10 mA/cm 2 ). Using our Ni 3 S 2 films as both the cathode and the anode, two-electrode full-cell electrolyzers were constructed, which showed stable operation for 100 h at a current density of 10 mA/cm 2 . The proposed ALD electrocatalysts on planar surfaces exhibited the best performance among Ni 3 S 2 materials for overall water splitting recorded to date.

Operation Status of the J-PARC Negative Hydrogen Ion Source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oguri, H.; Ikegami, K.; Ohkoshi, K.; Namekawa, Y.; Ueno, A.

2011-09-01

A cesium-free negative hydrogen ion source driven with a lanthanum hexaboride (LaB6) filament is being operated without any serious trouble for approximately four years in J-PARC. Although the ion source is capable of producing an H- ion current of more than 30 mA, the current is routinely restricted to approximately 16 mA at present for the stable operation of the RFQ linac which has serious discharge problem from September 2008. The beam run is performed during 1 month cycle, which consisted of a 4-5 weeks beam operation and a few days down-period interval. At the recent beam run, approximately 700 h continuous operation was achieved. At every runs, the beam interruption time due to the ion source failure is a few hours, which correspond to the ion source availability of more than 99%. The R&D work is being performed in parallel with the operation in order to enhance the further beam current. As a result, the H- ion current of 61 mA with normalized rms emittance of 0.26 πmm.mrad was obtained by adding a cesium seeding system to a J-PARC test ion source which has the almost same structure with the present J-PARC ion source.

Hybrid constructs for tridimensional correction of the thoracic spine in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: a comparative analysis of universal clamps versus hooks.

PubMed

Ilharreborde, Brice; Even, Julien; Lefevre, Yan; Fitoussi, Franck; Presedo, Ana; Penneçot, Georges-François; Mazda, Keyvan

2010-02-01

Retrospective study of prospectively collected data. Compare Universal Clamps (UCs) and hooks for the thoracic correction of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). In scoliosis surgery, sagittal correction is as important as frontal correction due to the risk of junctional kyphosis. Compared to all-screw constructs, hybrid constructs with lumbar pedicle screws and thoracic hooks or sublaminar wires have been shown to achieve similar coronal correction while providing superior postoperative thoracic kyphosis. The authors used a novel sublaminar thoracic implant, the UC with improvements over sublaminar wires. Hybrid constructs using thoracic UCs were compared to those with thoracic hooks. This series involved 150 patients treated for AIS with hybrid constructs. A total of 75 consecutive patients operated from 2001 to 2003, who had thoracic hooks with in situ contouring, distraction, and compression (Group 1), were compared to 75 consecutive patients operated from 2004 to 2006, who had thoracic UCs with posteromedial translation (Group 2). All had intraoperative somatosensory/motor-evoked potential monitoring and at least 2-years follow-up. Except for follow-up (longer in Group 1), the 2 groups were similar before surgery. The UCs achieved better thoracic coronal correction (P < 0.001), Cincinnati index (P < 0.001), kyphosis (P = 0.02), and apical rotation (P < 0.001). In normokyphotic or hypokyphotic patients, the UC corrected thoracic kyphosis by 11.2 degrees (55%) versus 0.4 degrees (2%) achieved by hooks (P < 0.0001). These differences were stable at last follow-up. There were no intraoperative complications or changes in somatosensory/motor-evoked potentials. UC reduced operative time by 20% (60 minutes; P < 0.001) and blood loss by 23% (250 mL; P < 0.001). Although both of these hybrid constructs efficaciously corrected the coronal and axial deformities in AIS, the results of the UC technique were superior to those achieved with hooks in all 3 planes, especially the sagittal plane. Moreover, the UC technique is straightforward and safe, reducing both operative duration and blood loss.

Effects of injection parameters, boost, and swirl ratio on gasoline compression ignition operation at idle and low-load conditions

DOE PAGES

Kodavasal, Janardhan; Kolodziej, Christopher P.; Ciatti, Stephen A.; ...

2016-11-03

In this study, we study the effects of injector nozzle inclusion angle, injection pressure, boost, and swirl ratio on gasoline compression ignition combustion. Closed-cycle computational fluid dynamics simulations using a 1/7th sector mesh representing a single cylinder of a four-cylinder 1.9 L diesel engine, operated in gasoline compression ignition mode with 87 anti-knock index (AKI) gasoline, were performed. Two different operating conditions were studied—the first is representative of idle operation (4 mg fuel/cylinder/cycle, 850 r/min), and the second is representative of a low-load condition (10 mg fuel/cylinder/cycle, 1500 r/min). The mixture preparation and reaction space from the simulations were analyzedmore » to gain insights into the effects of injection pressure, nozzle inclusion angle, boost, and swirl ratio on achieving stable low-load to idle gasoline compression ignition operation. It was found that narrower nozzle inclusion angles allow for more reactivity or propensity to ignition (determined qualitatively by computing constant volume ignition delays) and are suitable over a wider range of injection timings. Under idle conditions, it was found that lower injection pressures helped to reduce overmixing of the fuel, resulting in greater reactivity and ignitability (ease with which ignition can be achieved) of the gasoline. However, under the low-load condition, lower injection pressures did not increase ignitability, and it is hypothesized that this is because of reduced chemical residence time resulting from longer injection durations. Reduced swirl was found to maintain higher in-cylinder temperatures through compression, resulting in better ignitability. It was found that boosting the charge also helped to increase reactivity and advanced ignition timing.« less

Effects of injection parameters, boost, and swirl ratio on gasoline compression ignition operation at idle and low-load conditions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kodavasal, Janardhan; Kolodziej, Christopher P.; Ciatti, Stephen A.

In this study, we study the effects of injector nozzle inclusion angle, injection pressure, boost, and swirl ratio on gasoline compression ignition combustion. Closed-cycle computational fluid dynamics simulations using a 1/7th sector mesh representing a single cylinder of a four-cylinder 1.9 L diesel engine, operated in gasoline compression ignition mode with 87 anti-knock index (AKI) gasoline, were performed. Two different operating conditions were studied—the first is representative of idle operation (4 mg fuel/cylinder/cycle, 850 r/min), and the second is representative of a low-load condition (10 mg fuel/cylinder/cycle, 1500 r/min). The mixture preparation and reaction space from the simulations were analyzedmore » to gain insights into the effects of injection pressure, nozzle inclusion angle, boost, and swirl ratio on achieving stable low-load to idle gasoline compression ignition operation. It was found that narrower nozzle inclusion angles allow for more reactivity or propensity to ignition (determined qualitatively by computing constant volume ignition delays) and are suitable over a wider range of injection timings. Under idle conditions, it was found that lower injection pressures helped to reduce overmixing of the fuel, resulting in greater reactivity and ignitability (ease with which ignition can be achieved) of the gasoline. However, under the low-load condition, lower injection pressures did not increase ignitability, and it is hypothesized that this is because of reduced chemical residence time resulting from longer injection durations. Reduced swirl was found to maintain higher in-cylinder temperatures through compression, resulting in better ignitability. It was found that boosting the charge also helped to increase reactivity and advanced ignition timing.« less

Fiber Optic Cable Thermal Preparation to Ensure Stable Operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thoames Jr, William J.; Chuska, Rick F.; LaRocca, Frank V.; Switzer, Robert C.; Macmurphy, Shawn L.; Ott, Melanie N.

2008-01-01

Fiber optic cables are widely used in modern systems that must provide stable operation during exposure to changing environmental conditions. For example, a fiber optic cable on a satellite may have to reliably function over a temperature range of -50 C up to 125 C. While the system requirements for a particular application will dictate the exact method by which the fibers should be prepared, this work will examine multiple ruggedized fibers prepared in different fashions and subjected to thermal qualification testing. The data show that if properly conditioned the fiber cables can provide stable operation, but if done incorrectly, they will have large fluctuations in transmission.

Advances in understanding quiescent H-mode plasmas in DIII-Da)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burrell, K. H.; West, W. P.; Doyle, E. J.; Austin, M. E.; Casper, T. A.; Gohil, P.; Greenfield, C. M.; Groebner, R. J.; Hyatt, A. W.; Jayakumar, R. J.; Kaplan, D. H.; Lao, L. L.; Leonard, A. W.; Makowski, M. A.; McKee, G. R.; Osborne, T. H.; Snyder, P. B.; Solomon, W. M.; Thomas, D. M.; Rhodes, T. L.; Strait, E. J.; Wade, M. R.; Wang, G.; Zeng, L.

2005-05-01

Recent QH-mode research on DIII-D [J. L. Luxon et al., Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research 1996 (International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 1987), Vol. I, p. 159] has used the peeling-ballooning modes model of edge magnetohydrodynamic stability as a working hypothesis to organize the data; several predictions of this theory are consistent with the experimental results. Current ramping results indicate that QH modes operate near the edge current limit set by peeling modes. This operating point explains why QH mode is easier to get at lower plasma currents. Power scans have shown a saturation of edge pressure with increasing power input. This allows QH-mode plasmas to remain stable to edge localized modes (ELMs) to the highest powers used in DIII-D. At present, the mechanism for this saturation is unknown; if the edge harmonic oscillation (EHO) is playing a role here, the physics is not a simple amplitude dependence. The increase in edge stability with plasma triangularity predicted by the peeling-ballooning theory is consistent with the substantial improvement in pedestal pressure achieved by changing the plasma shape from a single null divertor to a high triangularity double null. Detailed ELITE calculations for the high triangularity plasmas have demonstrated that the plasma operating point is marginally stable to peeling-ballooning modes. Comparison of ELMing, coinjected and quiescent, counterinjected discharges with the same shape, current, toroidal field, electron density, and electron temperature indicates that the edge radial electric field or the edge toroidal rotation are also playing a role in edge stability. The EHO produces electron, main ion, and impurity particle transport at the plasma edge which is more rapid than that produced by ELMs under similar conditions. The EHO also decreases the edge rotation while producing little change in the edge electron and ion temperatures. Other edge electromagnetic modes also produce particle transport; this includes the incoherent, broadband activity seen at high triangularity. Pedestal values of ν* and βT bracketing, those required for International Experimental Thermonuclear Reactor [Nucl. Fusion 39, 2137 (1999)] have been achieved in DIII-D, demonstrating the QH-mode edge densities are sufficient for future devices.

Advances in understanding quiescent H-mode plasmas in DIII-D

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burrell, K.H.; West, W.P.; Gohil, P.

2005-05-15

Recent QH-mode research on DIII-D [J. L. Luxon et al., Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research 1996 (International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 1987), Vol. I, p. 159] has used the peeling-ballooning modes model of edge magnetohydrodynamic stability as a working hypothesis to organize the data; several predictions of this theory are consistent with the experimental results. Current ramping results indicate that QH modes operate near the edge current limit set by peeling modes. This operating point explains why QH mode is easier to get at lower plasma currents. Power scans have shown a saturation of edge pressure with increasingmore » power input. This allows QH-mode plasmas to remain stable to edge localized modes (ELMs) to the highest powers used in DIII-D. At present, the mechanism for this saturation is unknown; if the edge harmonic oscillation (EHO) is playing a role here, the physics is not a simple amplitude dependence. The increase in edge stability with plasma triangularity predicted by the peeling-ballooning theory is consistent with the substantial improvement in pedestal pressure achieved by changing the plasma shape from a single null divertor to a high triangularity double null. Detailed ELITE calculations for the high triangularity plasmas have demonstrated that the plasma operating point is marginally stable to peeling-ballooning modes. Comparison of ELMing, coinjected and quiescent, counterinjected discharges with the same shape, current, toroidal field, electron density, and electron temperature indicates that the edge radial electric field or the edge toroidal rotation are also playing a role in edge stability. The EHO produces electron, main ion, and impurity particle transport at the plasma edge which is more rapid than that produced by ELMs under similar conditions. The EHO also decreases the edge rotation while producing little change in the edge electron and ion temperatures. Other edge electromagnetic modes also produce particle transport; this includes the incoherent, broadband activity seen at high triangularity. Pedestal values of {nu}{sub *} and {beta}{sub T} bracketing, those required for International Experimental Thermonuclear Reactor [Nucl. Fusion 39, 2137 (1999)] have been achieved in DIII-D, demonstrating the QH-mode edge densities are sufficient for future devices.« less

Process performance and product quality in an integrated continuous antibody production process.

PubMed

Karst, Daniel J; Steinebach, Fabian; Soos, Miroslav; Morbidelli, Massimo

2017-02-01

Continuous manufacturing is currently being seriously considered in the biopharmaceutical industry as the possible new paradigm for producing therapeutic proteins, due to production cost and product quality related benefits. In this study, a monoclonal antibody producing CHO cell line was cultured in perfusion mode and connected to a continuous affinity capture step. The reliable and stable integration of the two systems was enabled by suitable control loops, regulating the continuous volumetric flow and adapting the operating conditions of the capture process. For the latter, an at-line HPLC measurement of the harvest concentration subsequent to the bioreactor was combined with a mechanistic model of the capture chromatographic unit. Thereby, optimal buffer consumption and productivity throughout the process was realized while always maintaining a yield above the target value of 99%. Stable operation was achieved at three consecutive viable cell density set points (20, 60, and 40 × 10 6 cells/mL), together with consistent product quality in terms of aggregates, fragments, charge isoforms, and N-linked glycosylation. In addition, different values for these product quality attributes such as N-linked glycosylation, charge variants, and aggregate content were measured at the different steady states. As expected, the amount of released DNA and HCP was significantly reduced by the capture step for all considered upstream operating conditions. This study is exemplary for the potential of enhancing product quality control and modulation by integrated continuous manufacturing. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 298-307. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Heintz, Amy M.; Risser, Steven; Elhard, Joel D.

In this invention, processes which can be used to achieve stable doped carbon nanotubes are disclosed. Preferred CNT structures and morphologies for achieving maximum doping effects are also described. Dopant formulations and methods for achieving doping of a broad distribution of tube types are also described.

Performance of a vanadium redox flow battery with tubular cell design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ressel, Simon; Laube, Armin; Fischer, Simon; Chica, Antonio; Flower, Thomas; Struckmann, Thorsten

2017-07-01

We present a vanadium redox flow battery with a tubular cell design which shall lead to a reduction of cell manufacturing costs and the realization of cell stacks with reduced shunt current losses. Charge/discharge cycling and polarization curve measurements are performed to characterize the single test cell performance. A maximum current density of 70 mAcm-2 and power density of 142 Wl-1 (per cell volume) is achieved and Ohmic overpotential is identified as the dominant portion of the total cell overpotential. Cycling displays Coulomb efficiencies of ≈95% and energy efficiencies of ≈55%. During 113 h of operation a stable Ohmic cell resistance is observed.

NAOMI: a low-order adaptive optics system for the VLT interferometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonté, Frédéric Yves J.; Alonso, Jaime; Aller-Carpentier, Emmanuel; Andolfato, Luigi; Berger, Jean-Philippe; Cortes, Angela; Delplancke-Strobele, Françoise; Donaldson, Rob; Dorn, Reinhold J.; Dupuy, Christophe; Egner, Sebastian E.; Huber, Stefan; Hubin, Norbert; Kirchbauer, Jean-Paul; Le Louarn, Miska; Lilley, Paul; Jolley, Paul; Martis, Alessandro; Paufique, Jérôme; Pasquini, Luca; Quentin, Jutta; Ridings, Robert; Reyes, Javier; Shchkaturov, Pavel; Suarez, Marcos; Phan Duc, Thanh; Valdes, Guillermo; Woillez, Julien; Le Bouquin, Jean-Baptiste; Beuzit, Jean-Luc; Rochat, Sylvain; Vérinaud, Christophe; Moulin, Thibaut; Delboulbé, Alain; Michaud, Laurence; Correia, Jean-Jacques; Roux, Alain; Maurel, Didier; Stadler, Eric; Magnard, Yves

2016-08-01

The New Adaptive Optics Module for Interferometry (NAOMI) will be developed for and installed at the 1.8-metre Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs) at ESO Paranal. The goal of the project is to equip all four ATs with a low-order Shack- Hartmann adaptive optics system operating in the visible. By improving the wavefront quality delivered by the ATs for guide stars brighter than R = 13 mag, NAOMI will make the existing interferometer performance less dependent on the seeing conditions. Fed with higher and more stable Strehl, the fringe tracker(s) will achieve the fringe stability necessary to reach the full performance of the second-generation instruments GRAVITY and MATISSE.

Passively Q-switched wavelength-tunable 1-μm fiber lasers with tapered-fiber-based black phosphorus saturable absorbers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Huaqing; Wang, Qi; Wang, Dongdong; Li, Li

2018-03-01

In this paper, we demonstrated passively Q-switched wavelength-tunable 1-μm fiber lasers utilizing few-layer black phosphorus saturable absorbers. The few-layer BP was deposited onto the tapered fibers by an optically driven process. The wavelength tunability was achieved with a fiber Sagnac loop comprised of a piece of polarization maintaining fiber and a polarization controller. Stable Q-switching laser operations were observed at wavelengths ranging from 1040.5 to 1044.6 nm at threshold pump power of 220 mW. Maximal pulse energy of 141.27 nJ at a repetition rate of 63 kHz was recorded under pump power of 445 mW.

Performance of a 1.15-pressure-ratio axial-flow fan stage with a blade tip solidity of 0.5

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Osborn, W. M.; Steinke, R. J.

1974-01-01

The overall and blade-element performance of a low-solidity, low-pressure-ratio, low-tip-speed fan stage is presented over the stable operating range at rotative speeds from 90 to 120 percent of design speed. At design speed a stage peak efficiency of 0.836 was obtained at a weight flow of 30.27 kilograms per second and a pressure ratio of 1.111. The pressure ratio was less than design pressure ratio, and the design energy input into the rotor was not achieved. A mismatch of the rotor and stator blade elements resulted due to the lower than design pressure ratio of the rotor.

Double-pass tapered amplifier diode laser with an output power of 1 W for an injection power of only 200 μW.

PubMed

Bolpasi, V; von Klitzing, W

2010-11-01

A 1 W tapered amplifier requiring only 200 μW of injection power at 780 nm is presented in this paper. This is achieved by injecting the seeding light into the amplifier from its tapered side and feeding the amplified light back into the small side. The amplified spontaneous emission of the tapered amplifier is suppressed by 75 dB. The double-passed tapered laser, presented here, is extremely stable and reliable. The output beam remains well coupled to the optical fiber for a timescale of months, whereas the injection of the seed light did not require realignment for over a year of daily operation.

High-power highly stable passively Q-switched fiber laser based on monolayer graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Hanshuo; Song, Jiaxin; Wu, Jian; Xu, Jiangming; Xiao, Hu; Leng, Jinyong; Zhou, Pu

2018-03-01

We demonstrate a monolayer graphene-based passively Q-switched fiber laser with three-stage amplifiers that can deliver an average power of over 80 W at 1064 nm. The highest average power achieved is 84.1 W, with a pulse energy of 1.67 mJ. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of a high-power passively Q-switched fiber laser in the 1 µm range. More importantly, the Q-switched fiber laser operated stably during a week of tests for a few hours per day, which proves the stability and practical application potential of graphene in high-power pulsed fiber lasers.

50-mJ, 1-kHz Yb:YAG thin-disk regenerative amplifier with 969-nm pulsed pumping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chyla, Michal; Miura, Taisuke; Smrž, Martin; Severova, Patricie; Novak, Ondrej; Endo, Akira; Mocek, Tomas

2014-02-01

We are developing a 100-mJ Yb:YAG thin-disk regenerative amplifier operating at 1-kHz repetition rate pumped at zero-phonon-line (968.825-nm1) and delivering 1-2 ps pulses for EUV plasma sources applicable in science and industry. Recently we achieved the output energy of nearly 50-mJ from a single laser-head cavity with good beam quality (M2<1.2) as well as stable beam-pointing (<4μrad). Applying pulsed pumping with the pulse duration shorter than the upper state lifetime of Yb:YAG helps to reduce the ASE and thermal loading of the thin-disk.

Stable continuous-wave single-frequency Nd:YAG blue laser at 473 nm considering the influence of the energy-transfer upconversion.

PubMed

Wang, Yaoting; Liu, Jianli; Liu, Qin; Li, Yuanji; Zhang, Kuanshou

2010-06-07

We report a continuous-wave (cw) single frequency Nd:YAG blue laser at 473 nm end-pumped by a laser diode. A ring laser resonator was designed, the frequency doubling efficiency and the length of nonlinear crystal were optimized based on the investigation of the influence of the frequency doubling efficiency on the thermal lensing effect induced by energy-transfer upconversion. By intracavity frequency doubling with PPKTP crystal, an output power of 1 W all-solid-state cw blue laser of single-frequency operation was achieved. The stability of the blue output power was better than +/- 1.8% in the given four hours.

Fluoride-fiber-based side-pump coupler for high-power fiber lasers at 2.8  μm.

PubMed

Schäfer, C A; Uehara, H; Konishi, D; Hattori, S; Matsukuma, H; Murakami, M; Shimizu, S; Tokita, S

2018-05-15

A side-pump coupler made of fluoride fibers was fabricated and tested. The tested device had a coupling efficiency of 83% and was driven with an incident pump power of up to 83.5 W, demonstrating high-power operation. Stable laser output of 15 W at a wavelength of around 2.8 μm was achieved over 1 h when using an erbium-doped double-clad fiber as the active medium. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a fluoride-glass-fiber-based side-pump coupler has been developed. A test with two devices demonstrated further power scalability.

Single stage experimental evaluation of tandem-airfoil rotor and stator blading for compressors. Part 4: Data and performance for stage B

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brent, J. A.; Cheatham, J. G.

1973-01-01

Stage B, composed of tandem-airfoil rotor B and stator B, was tested with uniform inlet flow and with hub radial, tip radial and 90 degree one-per-revolution circumferential distortion of the inlet flow as part of an overall program to evaluate the effectiveness of tandem airfoils for increasing the design point loading capability and stable operating range of rotor and stator blading. The results of this series of tests provide overall performance and blade element data for evaluating: (1) the potential of tandem blading for extending the loading limit and stable operating range of a stage representative of a middle stage of an advanced high pressure compressor, (2) the effect of loading split between the two airfoils in tandem on the performance of tandem blading, and (3) the effects of inlet flow distortion on the stage performance. The rotor had an inlet hub/tip ratio of 0.8 and a design tip velocity of 757 ft/sec. With uniform inlet flow, rotor B achieved a maximum adiabatic efficiency of 88.4% at design equivalent rotor speed and a pressure ratio of 1.31. The stage maximum adiabatic efficiency at design equivalent rotor speed with uniform inlet flow was 82.5% at a pressure ratio of 1.28. Tip radial and circumferential distortion of the inlet flow caused substantial reductions in surge margin.

A highly efficient and compact long pulse Nd:YAG rod laser with 540 J of pulse energy for welding application.

PubMed

Choubey, Ambar; Vishwakarma, S C; Misra, Pushkar; Jain, R K; Agrawal, D K; Arya, R; Upadhyaya, B N; Oak, S M

2013-07-01

We have developed an efficient and high average power flash lamp pumped long pulse Nd:YAG laser capable of generating 1 kW of average output power with maximum 540 J of single pulse energy and 20 kW of peak power. The laser pulse duration can be varied from 1 to 40 ms and repetition rate from 1 to 100 Hz. A compact and robust laser pump chamber and resonator was designed to achieve this high average and peak power. It was found that this laser system provides highest single pulse energy as compared to other long pulsed Nd:YAG laser systems of similar rating. A slope efficiency of 5.4% has been achieved, which is on higher side for typical lamp pumped solid-state lasers. This system will be highly useful in laser welding of materials such as aluminium and titanium. We have achieved 4 mm deep penetration welding of these metals under optimized conditions of output power, pulse energy, and pulse duration. The laser resonator was optimized to provide stable operation from single shot to 100 Hz of repetition rate. The beam quality factor was measured to be M(2) ~ 91 and pulse-to-pulse stability of ±3% for the multimode operation. The laser beam was efficiently coupled through an optical fiber of 600 μm core diameter and 0.22 numerical aperture with power transmission of 90%.

Occipitocervical fusions in children. Retrospective analysis and technical considerations.

PubMed

Rodgers, W B; Coran, D L; Emans, J B; Hresko, M T; Hall, J E

1999-07-01

This report presents a retrospective analysis of the authors' experience with occipitocervical fusions in children and adolescents during the last 2 decades. A description of an operative technique devised by the senior author (JEH), and a comparison of the results using this and other methods of fusion are given. Twenty-three patients underwent occipitocervical fusion. Fifteen of the patients were operated on using the authors' technique. To achieve stable fixation of the distal cervical vertebra a threaded Kirschner wire was passed transversely through the spinous process; occipital fixation was achieved by the traditional method of wiring corticocancellous bone graft to the skull through burr holes. The occipital wires then were wrapped around the Kirschner wire and the graft was cradled in the resulting nest. Halo immobilization was used in 10 patients for an average of 12.5 weeks (range, 6-24 weeks). Twenty-two patients achieved successful fusion at an average followup of 5.8 years (range, 1-14.33 years). Several complications, including transient quadriplegia in one patient, pseudarthrosis in two (one of which persists), hardware fixation failure in one, unintended distal extension of the fusion, pneumonia, wound infection, halo pin infection, skin breakdown under the halo vest, hydrocephalus, cerebrospinal fluid leak, and traumatic fusion fracture were encountered. Results using the technique described herein are comparable with or better than the results reported in the previous literature, and the results of the patients in this series in whom the technique was not used.

Highly stable organic field-effect transistors with engineered gate dielectrics (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kippelen, Bernard; Wang, Cheng-Yin; Fuentes-Hernandez, Canek; Yun, Minseong; Singh, Ankit K.; Dindar, Amir; Choi, Sangmoo; Graham, Samuel

2016-11-01

Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) have the potential to lead to low-cost flexible displays, wearable electronics, and sensors. While recent efforts have focused greatly on improving the maximum charge mobility that can be achieved in such devices, studies about the stability and reliability of such high performance devices are relatively scarce. In this talk, we will discuss the results of recent studies aimed at improving the stability of OFETs under operation and their shelf lifetime. In particular, we will focus on device architectures where the gate dielectric is engineered to act simultaneously as an environmental barrier layer. In the past, our group had demonstrated solution-processed top-gate OFETs using TIPS-pentacene and PTAA blends as a semiconductor layer with a bilayer gate dielectric layer of CYTOP/Al2O3, where the oxide layer was fabricated by atomic layer deposition, ALD. Such devices displayed high operational stability with little degradation after 20,000 on/off scan cycles or continuous operation (24 h), and high environmental stability when kept in air for more than 2 years, with unchanged carrier mobility. Using this stable device geometry, simple circuits and sensors operating in aqueous conditions were demonstrated. However, the Al2O3 layer was found to degrade due to corrosion under prolonged exposure in aqueous solutions. In this talk, we will report on the use of a nanolaminate (NL) composed of Al2O3 and HfO2 by ALD to replace the Al2O3 single layer in the bilayer gate dielectric use in top-gate OFETs. Such OFETs were found to operate under harsh condition such as immersion in water at 95 °C. This work was funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) through the Bay Area Photovoltaics Consortium (BAPVC) under Award Number DE-EE0004946.

Unsettled teamwork: communication and learning in the operating theatres of an urban hospital.

PubMed

Bezemer, Jeff; Korkiakangas, Terhi; Weldon, Sharon-Marie; Kress, Gunther; Kneebone, Roger

2016-02-01

To explore the unsettling effects of increased mobility of nurses, surgeons and other healthcare professionals on communication and learning in the operating theatre. Increasingly, healthcare professionals step in and out of newly formed transient teams and work with colleagues they have not met before, unsettling previously relatively stable team work based on shared, local knowledge accumulated over significant periods of close collaboration. An ethnographic case study was conducted of the operating theatre department of a major teaching hospital in London. Video recordings were made of 20 operations, involving different teams. The recordings were systematically reviewed and coded. Instances where difficulties arose in the communication between scrub nurse and surgeons were identified and subjected to detailed, interactional analysis. Instrument requests frequently prompted clarification from the scrub nurse (e.g. 'Sorry, what did you want?'). Such requests were either followed by a relatively elaborate clarification, designed to maximize learning opportunities, or a by a relatively minimal clarification, designed to achieve the immediate task at hand. Significant variation exists in the degree of support given to scrub nurses requesting clarification. Some surgeons experience such requests as disruptions, while others treat them as opportunities to build shared knowledge. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Cost-effective treatment solutions for rural areas: design and operation of a new package treatment plant for single households.

PubMed

Daude, D; Stephenson, T

2003-01-01

The design approach and operation of a newly developed package plant treating domestic sewage from single households were evaluated. Combining submerged aerated filter (SAF) technology with jet aeration and incorporating both into a compact and shallow tank resulted in a cost-effective treatment solution. A trial unit was permanently installed at a rural site, serving a single household. Jet aeration proved to be the best aeration method for the shallow bioreactor design. Further trials revealed a 50% reduction in suspended solids (SS) through the use of a static effluent filter and found that annual plant maintenance was vital to sustain stable operating conditions. Despite high variations in influent conditions, the trial unit produced good effluent quality during steady-state operation. Average effluent BOD5, COD and SS values were 19.6 mg l(-1), 98 mg l(-1) and 32 mg l(-1) achieving overall removal efficiencies of 94.2%, 85.9% and 87.6% respectively. However, effluent ammonia nitrogen (NH4-N) levels were found to be inconsistent varying from 9 mg l(-1) to over 60 mg l(-1).

Industrial wastewater platform: upgrading of the biological process and operative configurations for best performance.

PubMed

Eusebi, Anna Laura; Massi, Alessandro; Sablone, Emiliano; Santinelli, Martina; Battistoni, Paolo

2012-01-01

The treatment of industrial liquid wastes is placed in a wide context of technologies and is related to the high variability of the influent physical-chemical characteristics. In this condition, the achievement of satisfactory biological unit efficiency could be complicated. An alternate process (AC) with aerobic and anoxic phases fed in a continuous way was evaluated as an operative solution to optimize the performance of the biological reactor in a platform for the treatment of industrial liquid wastes. The process application has determined a stable quality effluent with an average concentration of 25 mg TN L(-1), according to the law limits. The use of discharged wastewaters as rapid carbon sources to support the anoxic phase of the alternate cycle, realizes a reduction of TN of 95% without impact on the total operative costs. The evaluation of the micro-pollutants behaviour has highlighted a bio-adsorption phenomenon in the first reactor. The implementation of the process defined 31% of energy saving during period 1 and 19% for the periods 2, 3 and 4.

Nitrogen removal and intentional nitrous oxide production from reject water in a coupled nitritation/nitrous denitritation system under real feed-stream conditions.

PubMed

Weißbach, Max; Thiel, Paul; Drewes, Jörg E; Koch, Konrad

2018-05-01

A Coupled Aerobic-anoxic Nitrous Decomposition Operation (CANDO) was performed over five months to investigate the performance and dynamics of nitrogen elimination and nitrous oxide production from digester reject water under real feed-stream conditions. A 93% conversion of ammonium to nitrite could be maintained for adapted seed sludge in the first stage (nitritation). The second stage (nitrous denitritation), inoculated with conventional activated sludge, achieved a conversion of 70% of nitrite to nitrous oxide after only 12 cycles of operation. The development of an alternative feeding strategy and the addition of a coagulant (FeCl 3 ) facilitated stable operation and process intensification. Under steady-state conditions, nitrite was reliably eliminated and different nitrous oxide harvesting strategies were assessed. Applying continuous removal increased N 2 O yields by 16% compared to the application of a dedicated stripping phase. These results demonstrate the feasible application of the CANDO process for nitrogen removal and energy recovery from ammonia rich wastewater. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High performance low voltage organic field effect transistors on plastic substrate for amplifier circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Houin, G.; Duez, F.; Garcia, L.; Cantatore, E.; Torricelli, F.; Hirsch, L.; Belot, D.; Pellet, C.; Abbas, M.

2016-09-01

The high performance air stable organic semiconductor small molecule dinaphtho[2,3-b:2',3'-f]thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (DNTT) was chosen as active layer for field effect transistors built to realize flexible amplifier circuits. Initial device on rigid Si/SiO2 substrate showed appreciable performance with hysteresis-free characteristics. A number of approaches were applied to simplify the process, improve device performance and decrease the operating voltage: they include an oxide interfacial layer to decrease contact resistance; a polymer passivation layer to optimize semiconductor/dielectric interface and an anodized high-k oxide as dielectric layer for low voltage operation. The devices fabricated on plastic substrate yielded excellent electrical characteristics, showing mobility of 1.6 cm2/Vs, lack of hysteresis, operation below 5 V and on/off current ratio above 105. An OFET model based on variable ranging hopping theory was used to extract the relevant parameters from the transfer and output characteristics, which enabled us to simulate our devices achieving reasonable agreement with the measurements

Tokamak Operation with Safety Factor q 95 < 2 via Control of MHD Stability

DOE PAGES

Piovesan, Paolo; Hanson, Jeremy M.; Martin, Piero; ...

2014-07-24

Magnetic feedback control of the resistive-wall mode has enabled DIII-D to access stable operation at safety factor q95 = 1:9 in divertor plasmas for 150 instability growth times. Magnetohydrodynamic stability sets a hard, disruptive limit on the minimum edge safety factor achievable in a tokamak, or on the maximum plasma current at given toroidal magnetic eld. In tokamaks with a divertor, the limit occurs at q95 = 2, as con rmed in DIII-D. Since the energy con cement time scales linearly with current, this also bounds the performance of a fusion reactor. DIII-D has overcome this limit, opening a wholemore » new high-current regime not accessible before. This result brings signi cant possible bene ts in terms of fusion performance, but it also extends resistive wall mode physics and its control to conditions never explored before. In present experiments, q95 < 2 operation is eventually halted by voltage limits reached in the feedback power supplies, not by intrinsic physics issues. Improvements to power supplies and to control algorithms have the potential to further extend this regime.« less

Anaerobic co-digestion of cheese whey and the screened liquid fraction of dairy manure in a single continuously stirred tank reactor process: Limits in co-substrate ratios and organic loading rate.

PubMed

Rico, Carlos; Muñoz, Noelia; Rico, José Luis

2015-01-01

Mesophilic anaerobic co-digestion of cheese whey and the screened liquid fraction of dairy manure was investigated with the aim of determining the treatment limits in terms of the cheese whey fraction in feed and the organic loading rate. The results of a continuous stirred tank reactor that was operated with a hydraulic retention time of 15.6 days showed that the co-digestion process was possible with a cheese whey fraction as high as 85% in the feed. The efficiency of the process was similar within the range of the 15-85% cheese whey fraction. To study the effect of the increasing loading rate, the HRT was progressively shortened with the 65% cheese whey fraction in the feed. The reactor efficiency dropped as the HRT decreased but enabled a stable operation over 8.7 days of HRT. At these operating conditions, a volumetric methane production rate of 1.37 m(3) CH4 m(-3) d(-1) was achieved. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Characteristics and operation of enhanced continuous bio-hydrogen production reactor using support carrier].

PubMed

Ren, Nan-qi; Tang, Jing; Gong, Man-li

2006-06-01

A kind of granular activated carbon, whose granular size is no more than 2mm and specific gravity is 1.54g/cm3, was used as the support carrier to allow retention of activated sludge within a continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) using molasses wastewater as substrate for bio-hydrogen production. Continuous operation characteristics and operational controlling strategy of the enhanced continuous bio-hydrogen production system were investigated. It was indicated that, support carriers could expand the activity scope of hydrogen production bacteria, make the system fairly stable in response to organic load impact and low pH value (pH <3.8), and maintain high biomass concentration in the reactor at low HRT. The reactor with ethanol-type fermentation achieved an optimal hydrogen production rate of 0.37L/(g x d), while the pH value ranged from 3.8 to 4.4, and the hydrogen content was approximately 40% approximately 57% of biogas. It is effective to inhibit the methanogens by reducing the pH value of the bio-hydrogen production system, consequently accelerate the start-up of the reactor.

First Plasma Results from the HIT-SI Spheromak

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sieck, P. E.; Hamp, W. T.; Izzo, V. A.; Jarboe, T. R.; Nelson, B. A.; O'Neill, R. G.; Redd, A. J.; Smith, R. J.

2003-10-01

HIT-SI is the newest device in the Helicity Injected Torus (HIT) program. HIT-SI is a ``bow tie'' spheromak formed and sustained by Steady Inductive Helicity Injection (SIHI) current drive. SIHI injects helicity at a nearly constant rate with no open field lines intersecting the boundary. (T. R. Jarboe, Fusion Technology 36) (1), p. 85, 1999 HIT-SI has been designed with a bow tie geometry to achieve stable high-β (>10%) spheromak equilibria. (U. Shumlak and T. R. Jarboe, Phys. Plasmas 7) (7), p. 2959, 2000 Diagnostics currently include surface magnetic probes and flux loops, visible light imaging, H-alpha line radiation monitors, voltage measurements across insulating breaks, injector current Rogowski coils, and injector flux loops. HIT-SI is currently operating in parallel with experiments on HIT-II. At the conclusion of HIT-II operations, HIT-SI will inherit a multi-point Thomson Scattering system, a scanning two-chord FIR interferometer, and other advanced diagnostics, as well as more power supplies to extend the discharge duration. Results are presented which characterize injector operation and possible evidence for spheromak formation.

The effects of type of knowledge upon human problem solving in a process control task

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, N. M.; Rouse, W. B.

1985-01-01

The question of what the operator of a dynamic system needs to know was investigated in an experiment using PLANT, a simulation of a generic dynamic production process. Knowledge of PLANT was manipulated via different types of instruction, so that four different groups were created: (1) minimal instructions only; (2) minimal instructions and guidelines for operation (procedures); (3) minimal instructions and dynamic relationships (principles); and (4) minimal instructions, and procedures, and principles. Subjects controlled PLANT in a variety of situations which required maintaining production while also diagnosing familiar and unfamiliar failures. Despite the fact that these manipulations resulted in differences in subjects' Knowledge, as assessed via a written test at the end of the experiment, instructions had no effect upon achievement of the primary goal of production, or upon subjects' ability to diagnose unfamiliar failures. However, those groups receiving procedures controlled the system in a more stable manner. Possible reasons for the failure to find an effect of principles are presented, and the implications of these results for operator training and aiding are discussed.

Liquid phase fluid dynamic (methanol) run in the LaPorte alternative fuels development unit

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bharat L. Bhatt

1997-05-01

A fluid dynamic study was successfully completed in a bubble column at DOE's Alternative Fuels Development Unit (AFDU) in LaPorte, Texas. Significant fluid dynamic information was gathered at pilot scale during three weeks of Liquid Phase Methanol (LPMEOJP) operations in June 1995. In addition to the usual nuclear density and temperature measurements, unique differential pressure data were collected using Sandia's high-speed data acquisition system to gain insight on flow regime characteristics and bubble size distribution. Statistical analysis of the fluctuations in the pressure data suggests that the column was being operated in the churn turbulent regime at most of themore » velocities considered. Dynamic gas disengagement experiments showed a different behavior than seen in low-pressure, cold-flow work. Operation with a superficial gas velocity of 1.2 ft/sec was achieved during this run, with stable fluid dynamics and catalyst performance. Improvements included for catalyst activation in the design of the Clean Coal III LPMEOH{trademark} plant at Kingsport, Tennessee, were also confirmed. In addition, an alternate catalyst was demonstrated for LPMEOH{trademark}.« less

An improved parent-centric mutation with normalized neighborhoods for inducing niching behavior in differential evolution.

PubMed

Biswas, Subhodip; Kundu, Souvik; Das, Swagatam

2014-10-01

In real life, we often need to find multiple optimally sustainable solutions of an optimization problem. Evolutionary multimodal optimization algorithms can be very helpful in such cases. They detect and maintain multiple optimal solutions during the run by incorporating specialized niching operations in their actual framework. Differential evolution (DE) is a powerful evolutionary algorithm (EA) well-known for its ability and efficiency as a single peak global optimizer for continuous spaces. This article suggests a niching scheme integrated with DE for achieving a stable and efficient niching behavior by combining the newly proposed parent-centric mutation operator with synchronous crowding replacement rule. The proposed approach is designed by considering the difficulties associated with the problem dependent niching parameters (like niche radius) and does not make use of such control parameter. The mutation operator helps to maintain the population diversity at an optimum level by using well-defined local neighborhoods. Based on a comparative study involving 13 well-known state-of-the-art niching EAs tested on an extensive collection of benchmarks, we observe a consistent statistical superiority enjoyed by our proposed niching algorithm.

Research on Bifurcation and Chaos in a Dynamic Mixed Game System with Oligopolies Under Carbon Emission Constraint

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Junhai; Yang, Wenhui; Lou, Wandong

This paper establishes an oligopolistic game model under the carbon emission reduction constraint and investigates its complex characteristics like bifurcation and chaos. Two oligopolistic manufacturers comprise three mixed game models, aiming to explore the variation in the status of operating system as per the upgrading of benchmark reward-penalty mechanism. Firstly, we set up these basic models that are respectively distinguished with carbon emission quantity and study these models using different game methods. Then, we concentrate on one typical game model to further study the dynamic complexity of variations in the system status, through 2D bifurcation diagrams and 4D parameter adjustment features based on the bounded rationality scheme for price, and the adaptive scheme for carbon emission. The results show that the carbon emission constraint has significant influence on the status variation of two-oligopolistic game operating systems no matter whether it is stable or chaotic. Besides, the new carbon emission regulation meets government supervision target and achieves the goal of being environment friendly by motivating the system to operate with lower carbon emission.

Q-switched dual-wavelength pumped 3.5-μm erbium-doped mid-Infrared fiber laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bawden, Nathaniel; Matsukuma, Hiraku; Henderson-Sapir, Ori; Klantsataya, Elizaveta; Tokita, Shigeki; Ottaway, David J.

2018-02-01

Short pulse operation of fiber lasers operating at wavelengths up 3 micron have been reported in recent years. At longer wavelengths, fiber lasers have only been demonstrated with a continuous operation mode. Short pulse operation in the mid-IR is necessary for utilizing such lasers in laser radars and for medical applications. Our previous numerical work suggested that Q-switching is possible on the 3.5 μm transition in erbium-doped ZBLAN in a similar manner to work demonstrated on the 2.8 μm transition in erbium. In this work we report on initial experimental results of a Q-switched, dualwavelength pumped fiber laser operating on the 3.5 μm transition in erbium-doped ZBLAN glass fibers. Using a hybrid fiber and open resonator configuration utilizing an acousto-optic modulator we demonstrated stable single pulse Q-switching while operating at repetition rates of 20 kHz and up to 120 kHz. The laser achieved a peak power of 8 W with pulse energy of 7 μJ while operating at 25 kHz. Long pulse widths on the order of 1 μs were obtained. The low peak power and long pulses are likely the result of both low gain of the transition and additional losses in the resonator which are currently being investigated. Our latest results will be presented.

Post-Plasma SiOx Coatings of Metal and Metal Oxide Nanoparticles for Enhanced Thermal Stability and Tunable Photoactivity Applications

PubMed Central

Post, Patrick; Jidenko, Nicolas; Weber, Alfred P.; Borra, Jean-Pascal

2016-01-01

The plasma-based aerosol process developed for the direct coating of particles in gases with silicon oxide in a continuous chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process is presented. It is shown that non-thermal plasma filaments induced in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) at atmospheric pressure trigger post-DBD gas phase reactions. DBD operating conditions are first scanned to produce ozone and dinitrogen pentoxide. In the selected conditions, these plasma species react with gaseous tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) precursor downstream of the DBD. The gaseous intermediates then condense on the surface of nanoparticles and self-reactions lead to homogeneous solid SiOx coatings, with thickness from nanometer to micrometer. This confirms the interest of post-DBD injection of the organo-silicon precursor to achieve stable production of actives species with subsequent controlled thickness of SiOx coatings. SiOx coatings of spherical and agglomerated metal and metal oxide nanoparticles (Pt, CuO, TiO2) are achieved. In the selected DBD operating conditions, the thickness of homogeneous nanometer sized coatings of spherical nanoparticles depends on the reaction duration and on the precursor concentration. For agglomerates, operating conditions can be tuned to cover preferentially the interparticle contact zones between primary particles, shifting the sintering of platinum agglomerates to much higher temperatures than the usual sintering temperature. Potential applications for enhanced thermal stability and tunable photoactivity of coated agglomerates are presented. PMID:28335219

Suppression of Instability of High Pressure DC Microplasma Operating in the Negative Differential Resistance (NDR) Regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahamud, Rajib; Farouk, Tanvir I.

2015-09-01

Microplasma devices have been the subject of considerable interest and research during the last decade. In a DC system most of the operation regime of the plasma discharges studied fall in the ``abnormal,'' ``normal'' and ``corona'' modes - where a quasi-steady state is achieved. It is well known that even in a DC system the negative differential resistance (NDR) regime can trigger self pulsing discharges. These pulsations are initiated by the parasitic capacitance of the system hence governed by the response time of the power circuit. The circuit response time is required to be larger than the ion transit time to initiate the oscillations. In this present study a suppressor circuit element in the form of an inductor is used to restrain the plasma from switching to a self pulsing mode. It has been identified that the combined response time of the inductor and the plasma discharge (L/Rplasma) has to be larger than the power circuit time constant (RC) to achieve suppression. Inhibition of oscillation has been observed in both experiments and numerical simulations. The obtained voltage-current characteristics show that the inductor element extends the normal glow regime to lower current. Additional parametric simulations are conducted to map out a ``stable'' operation regime. The author would like to thank DARPA (ARO Grant No. W911NF1210007) and University of South Carolina (USC) for the financial support of the work.

Revisiting the relationship between attributional style and academic performance

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Abstract Previous research into the relationship between attributions and academic performance has produced contradictory findings that have not been resolved. The present research examines the role of specific dimensions of attributional style in predicting subsequent academic performance in a sample of pupils (N = 979) from both high‐ and low‐achieving schools. Hierarchical regression and moderation analyses indicate that internal, stable, and global, attributional styles for positive events predict higher levels of academic performance. Global attributions for negative events were related to poorer performance across all schools. Stable attributions for negative events were related to higher levels of performance in high‐achieving schools but not in low‐achieving schools. Higher levels of internality for negative events were associated with higher performance only in low achieving schools. PMID:27594711

Pilot-scale tertiary MBBR nitrification at 1°C: characterization of ammonia removal rate, solids settleability and biofilm characteristics.

PubMed

Young, Bradley; Delatolla, Robert; Ren, Baisha; Kennedy, Kevin; Laflamme, Edith; Stintzi, Alain

2016-08-01

Pilot-scale moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) is used to investigate the kinetics and biofilm response of municipal, tertiary nitrification at 1°C. The research demonstrates that significant rates of tertiary MBBR nitrification are attainable and stable for extended periods of operation at 1°C, with a maximum removal rate of 230 gN/m(3) d at 1°C. At conventional nitrogen loading rates, low ammonia effluent concentrations below 5 mg-N/L were achieved at 1°C. The biofilm thickness and dry weight biofilm mass (massdw) were shown to be stable, with thickness values showing a correlation to the protein/polysaccharide ratio of the biofilm extracellular polymeric substances. Lastly, tertiary MBBR nitrification is shown to increase the effluent suspended solids concentrations by approximately 3 mg total suspended solids /L, with 19-60% of effluent solids being removed after 30 min of settling. The settleability of the effluent solids was shown to be correlated to the nitrogen loading of the MBBR system.

Error free physically unclonable function with programmed resistive random access memory using reliable resistance states by specific identification-generation method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tseng, Po-Hao; Hsu, Kai-Chieh; Lin, Yu-Yu; Lee, Feng-Min; Lee, Ming-Hsiu; Lung, Hsiang-Lan; Hsieh, Kuang-Yeu; Chung Wang, Keh; Lu, Chih-Yuan

2018-04-01

A high performance physically unclonable function (PUF) implemented with WO3 resistive random access memory (ReRAM) is presented in this paper. This robust ReRAM-PUF can eliminated bit flipping problem at very high temperature (up to 250 °C) due to plentiful read margin by using initial resistance state and set resistance state. It is also promised 10 years retention at the temperature range of 210 °C. These two stable resistance states enable stable operation at automotive environments from -40 to 125 °C without need of temperature compensation circuit. The high uniqueness of PUF can be achieved by implementing a proposed identification (ID)-generation method. Optimized forming condition can move 50% of the cells to low resistance state and the remaining 50% remain at initial high resistance state. The inter- and intra-PUF evaluations with unlimited separation of hamming distance (HD) are successfully demonstrated even under the corner condition. The number of reproduction was measured to exceed 107 times with 0% bit error rate (BER) at read voltage from 0.4 to 0.7 V.

Effect of TiO2 nanoparticles on aerobic granulation of algal-bacterial symbiosis system and nutrients removal from synthetic wastewater.

PubMed

Li, Bing; Huang, Wenli; Zhang, Chao; Feng, Sisi; Zhang, Zhenya; Lei, Zhongfang; Sugiura, Norio

2015-01-01

The influence of TiO2 nanoparticles (TiO2-NPs) (10-50mg/L) on aerobic granulation of algal-bacterial symbiosis system was investigated by using two identical sequencing batch reactors (SBRs). Although little adverse effect was observed on their nitritation efficiency (98-100% in both reactors), algal-bacterial granules in the control SBR (Rc) gradually lost stability mainly brought about by algae growth. TiO2-NPs addition to RT was found to enhance the granulation process achieving stable and compact algal-bacterial granules with remarkably improved nitratation thus little nitrite accumulation in RT when influent TiO2-NPs⩾30mg/L. Despite almost similar organics and phosphorus removals obtained in both reactors, the stably high nitratation efficiency in addition to much stable granular structure in RT suggests that TiO2-NPs addition might be a promising remedy for the long-term operation of algal-bacterial granular system, most probably attributable to the stimulated excretion of extracellular polymeric substances and less filamentous TM7. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

TLBO based Voltage Stable Environment Friendly Economic Dispatch Considering Real and Reactive Power Constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verma, H. K.; Mafidar, P.

2013-09-01

In view of growing concern towards environment, power system engineers are forced to generate quality green energy. Hence the economic dispatch (ED) aims at the power generation to meet the load demand at minimum fuel cost with environmental and voltage constraints along with essential constraints on real and reactive power. The emission control which reduces the negative impact on environment is achieved by including the additional constraints in ED problem. Presently, the power system mostly operates near its stability limits, therefore with increased demand the system faces voltage problem. The bus voltages are brought within limit in the present work by placement of static var compensator (SVC) at weak bus which is identified from bus participation factor. The optimal size of SVC is determined by univariate search method. This paper presents the use of Teaching Learning based Optimization (TLBO) algorithm for voltage stable environment friendly ED problem with real and reactive power constraints. The computational effectiveness of TLBO is established through test results over particle swarm optimization (PSO) and Big Bang-Big Crunch (BB-BC) algorithms for the ED problem.

Performance and Characteristics of a Cyclone Gasifier for Gasification of Sawdust

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azman Miskam, Muhamad; Zainal, Z. A.; Idroas, M. Y.

The performance and characteristics of a cyclone gasifier for gasification of sawdust has been studied and evaluated. The system applied a technique to gasify sawdust through the concept of cyclonic motion driven by air injected at atmospheric pressure. This study covers the results obtained for gasification of ground sawdust from local furniture industries with size distribution ranging from 0.25 to 1 mm. It was found that the typical wall temperature for initiating stable gasification process was about 400°C. The heating value of producer gas was about 3.9 MJ m-3 that is sufficient for stable combustion in a dual-fuel engine generator. The highest thermal output from the cyclone gasifier was 57.35 kWT. The highest value of mass conversion efficiency and enthalpy balance were 60 and 98.7%, respectively. The highest efficiency of the cyclone gasifier obtained was 73.4% and this compares well with other researchers. The study has identified the optimum operational condition for gasifying sawdust in a cyclone gasifier and made conclusions as to how the steady gasification process can be achieved.

Adsorption of iodine from COIL waste gas on soaked coal-based activated carbon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Junbo; Hao, Shan; Gao, Liping

2014-04-01

The chemical oxygen-iodine laser (COIL) has wide application prospects in military, industrial and medical treatment fields as a second generation gas chemical laser to follow the first HF/DF chemical laser. However, a COIL releases large amounts of gas, such as helium, oxygen, chlorine and iodine. Chlorides have a serious corrosive effect on the system, especially iodine vapor crystallization, which seriously endangers the normal use of vacuum systems, and radioactive methyl iodide, which is hazardous to operators and pollutes the environment. The use of soaked coal-based activated carbon as an adsorbent for removing methyl iodine is proposed, while it is proposed that coal-based activated carbon is an effective adsorbent for removing stable iodine. The research conducted in this work shows that iodine residues are less than 0.5 μg ml-1 after the adsorption treatment and the decontamination factor of the coal-based activated carbon for removing stable iodine is more than 1000. Using this method can achieve the purpose of removing harmful iodine, satisfy the requirements for engineering applications, and also be applied to other nuclear power plant flue gas treatments.

Design of an integrated fuel processor for residential PEMFCs applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seo, Yu Taek; Seo, Dong Joo; Jeong, Jin Hyeok; Yoon, Wang Lai

KIER has been developing a novel fuel processing system to provide hydrogen rich gas to residential PEMFCs system. For the effective design of a compact hydrogen production system, each unit process for steam reforming and water gas shift, has a steam generator and internal heat exchangers which are thermally and physically integrated into a single packaged hardware system. The newly designed fuel processor (prototype II) showed a thermal efficiency of 78% as a HHV basis with methane conversion of 89%. The preferential oxidation unit with two staged cascade reactors, reduces, the CO concentration to below 10 ppm without complicated temperature control hardware, which is the prerequisite CO limit for the PEMFC stack. After we achieve the initial performance of the fuel processor, partial load operation was carried out to test the performance and reliability of the fuel processor at various loads. The stability of the fuel processor was also demonstrated for three successive days with a stable composition of product gas and thermal efficiency. The CO concentration remained below 10 ppm during the test period and confirmed the stable performance of the two-stage PrOx reactors.

Generator voltage stabilisation for series-hybrid electric vehicles.

PubMed

Stewart, P; Gladwin, D; Stewart, J; Cowley, R

2008-04-01

This paper presents a controller for use in speed control of an internal combustion engine for series-hybrid electric vehicle applications. Particular reference is made to the stability of the rectified DC link voltage under load disturbance. In the system under consideration, the primary power source is a four-cylinder normally aspirated gasoline internal combustion engine, which is mechanically coupled to a three-phase permanent magnet AC generator. The generated AC voltage is subsequently rectified to supply a lead-acid battery, and permanent magnet traction motors via three-phase full bridge power electronic inverters. Two complementary performance objectives exist. Firstly to maintain the internal combustion engine at its optimal operating point, and secondly to supply a stable 42 V supply to the traction drive inverters. Achievement of these goals minimises the transient energy storage requirements at the DC link, with a consequent reduction in both weight and cost. These objectives imply constant velocity operation of the internal combustion engine under external load disturbances and changes in both operating conditions and vehicle speed set-points. An electronically operated throttle allows closed loop engine velocity control. System time delays and nonlinearities render closed loop control design extremely problematic. A model-based controller is designed and shown to be effective in controlling the DC link voltage, resulting in the well-conditioned operation of the hybrid vehicle.

Experiment Description and Results for Arrival Operations Using Interval Management with Spacing to Parallel Dependent Runways (IMSPiDR)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baxley, Brian T.; Murdoch, Jennifer L.; Swieringa, Kurt A.; Barmore, Bryan E.; Capron, William R.; Hubbs, Clay E.; Shay, Richard F.; Abbott, Terence S.

2013-01-01

The predicted increase in the number of commercial aircraft operations creates a need for improved operational efficiency. Two areas believed to offer increases in aircraft efficiency are optimized profile descents and dependent parallel runway operations. Using Flight deck Interval Management (FIM) software and procedures during these operations, flight crews can achieve by the runway threshold an interval assigned by air traffic control (ATC) behind the preceding aircraft that maximizes runway throughput while minimizing additional fuel consumption and pilot workload. This document describes an experiment where 24 pilots flew arrivals into the Dallas Fort-Worth terminal environment using one of three simulators at NASA?s Langley Research Center. Results indicate that pilots delivered their aircraft to the runway threshold within +/- 3.5 seconds of their assigned time interval, and reported low workload levels. In general, pilots found the FIM concept, procedures, speeds, and interface acceptable. Analysis of the time error and FIM speed changes as a function of arrival stream position suggest the spacing algorithm generates stable behavior while in the presence of continuous (wind) or impulse (offset) error. Concerns reported included multiple speed changes within a short time period, and an airspeed increase followed shortly by an airspeed decrease.

Improved PFB operations: 400-hour turbine test results. [coal combustion products and hot corrosion in gas turbines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rollbuhler, R. J.; Benford, S. M.; Zellars, G. R.

1980-01-01

A pressurized fluidized bed (PFB) coal-burning reactor was used to provide hot effluent gases for operation of a small gas turbine. Preliminary tests determined the optimum operating conditions that would result in minimum bed particle carryover in the combustion gases. Solids were removed from the gases before they could be transported into the test turbine by use of a modified two stage cyclone separator. Design changes and refined operation procedures resulted in a significant decrease in particle carryover, from 2800 to 93 ppm (1.5 to 0.05 grains/std cu ft), with minimal drop in gas temperature and pressure. The achievement of stable burn conditions and low solids loadings made possible a 400 hr test of small superalloy rotor, 15 cm (6 in.) in diameter, operating in the effluent. Blades removed and examined metallographically after 200 hr exhibited accelerated oxidation over most of the blade surface, with subsurface alumina penetration to 20 micron m. After 400 hours, average erosion loss was about 25 micron m (1 mil). Sulfide particles, indicating hot corrosion, were present in depletion zones, and their presence corresponded in general to the areas of adherent solids deposit. Sulfidation appears to be a materials problem equal in importance to erosion.

Model-based adaptive sliding mode control of the subcritical boiler-turbine system with uncertainties.

PubMed

Tian, Zhen; Yuan, Jingqi; Xu, Liang; Zhang, Xiang; Wang, Jingcheng

2018-05-25

As higher requirements are proposed for the load regulation and efficiency enhancement, the control performance of boiler-turbine systems has become much more important. In this paper, a novel robust control approach is proposed to improve the coordinated control performance for subcritical boiler-turbine units. To capture the key features of the boiler-turbine system, a nonlinear control-oriented model is established and validated with the history operation data of a 300 MW unit. To achieve system linearization and decoupling, an adaptive feedback linearization strategy is proposed, which could asymptotically eliminate the linearization error caused by the model uncertainties. Based on the linearized boiler-turbine system, a second-order sliding mode controller is designed with the super-twisting algorithm. Moreover, the closed-loop system is proved robustly stable with respect to uncertainties and disturbances. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme, which achieves excellent tracking performance, strong robustness and chattering reduction. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

High-performance organic light-emitting diodes comprising ultrastable glass layers

PubMed Central

Rodríguez-Viejo, Javier

2018-01-01

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are one of the key solid-state light sources for various applications including small and large displays, automotive lighting, solid-state lighting, and signage. For any given commercial application, OLEDs need to perform at their best, which is judged by their device efficiency and operational stability. We present OLEDs that comprise functional layers fabricated as ultrastable glasses, which represent the thermodynamically most favorable and, thus, stable molecular conformation achievable nowadays in disordered solids. For both external quantum efficiencies and LT70 lifetimes, OLEDs with four different phosphorescent emitters show >15% enhancements over their respective reference devices. The only difference to the latter is the growth condition used for ultrastable glass layers that is optimal at about 85% of the materials’ glass transition temperature. These improvements are achieved through neither material refinements nor device architecture optimization, suggesting a general applicability of this concept to maximize the OLED performance, no matter which specific materials are used. PMID:29806029

[Quick Start-up and Sustaining of Shortcut Nitrification in Continuous Flow Reactor].

PubMed

Wu, Peng; Zhang Shi-ying; Song, Yin-ling; Xu, Yue-zhong; Shen, Yao-liang

2016-04-15

How to achieve fast and stable startup of shortcut nitrification has a very important practical value for treatment of low C/N ratio wastewater. Thus, the quick start-up and sustaining of shortcut nitrification were investigated in continuous flow reactor targeting at the current situation of urban wastewater treatment plant using a continuous flow process. The results showed that quick start-up of shortcut nitrification could be successfully achieved in a continuous flow reactor after 60 days' operation with intermittent aeration and controlling of three stages of stop/aeration time (15 min/45 min, 45 min/45 min and 30 min/30 min). The nitrification rates could reach 90% or 95% respectively, while influent ammonia concentrations were 50 or 100 mg · L⁻¹ with stop/aeration time of 30 min/30 min. In addition, intermittent aeration could inhibit the activity of nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB), while short hydraulic retention time (HRT) may wash out NOB. And a combined use of both measures was beneficial to sustain shortcut nitrification.

Developing high energy dissipative soliton fiber lasers at 2 micron

PubMed Central

Huang, Chongyuan; Wang, Cong; Shang, Wei; Yang, Nan; Tang, Yulong; Xu, Jianqiu

2015-01-01

While the recent discovered new mode-locking mechanism - dissipative soliton - has successfully improved the pulse energy of 1 μm and 1.5 μm fiber lasers to tens of nanojoules, it is still hard to scale the pulse energy at 2 μm due to the anomalous dispersion of the gain fiber. After analyzing the intracavity pulse dynamics, we propose that the gain fiber should be condensed to short lengths in order to generate high energy pulse at 2 μm. Numerical simulation predicts the existence of stable 2 μm dissipative soliton solutions with pulse energy over 10 nJ, comparable to that achieved in the 1 μm and 1.5 μm regimes. Experimental operation confirms the validity of the proposal. These results will advance our understanding of mode-locked fiber lasers at different wavelengths and lay an important step in achieving high energy ultrafast laser pulses from anomalous dispersion gain media. PMID:26348563

An integrated parity-time symmetric wavelength-tunable single-mode microring laser

PubMed Central

Liu, Weilin; Li, Ming; Guzzon, Robert S.; Norberg, Erik J.; Parker, John S.; Lu, Mingzhi; Coldren, Larry A.; Yao, Jianping

2017-01-01

Mode control in a laser cavity is critical for a stable single-mode operation of a ring laser. In this study we propose and experimentally demonstrate an electrically pumped parity-time (PT)-symmetric microring laser with precise mode control, to achieve wavelength-tunable single-mode lasing with an improved mode suppression ratio. The proposed PT-symmetric laser is implemented based on a photonic integrated circuit consisting of two mutually coupled active microring resonators. By incorporating multiple semiconductor optical amplifiers in the microring resonators, the PT-symmetry condition can be achieved by a precise manipulation of the interplay between the gain and loss in the two microring resonators, and the incorporation of phase modulators in the microring resonators enables continuous wavelength tuning. Single-mode lasing at 1,554.148 nm with a sidemode suppression ratio exceeding 36 dB is demonstrated and the lasing wavelength is continuously tunable from 1,553.800 to 1,554.020 nm. PMID:28497784

Autonomous celestial navigation based on Earth ultraviolet radiance and fast gradient statistic feature extraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Shan; Zhang, Hanmo

2016-01-01

To meet the requirement of autonomous orbit determination, this paper proposes a fast curve fitting method based on earth ultraviolet features to obtain accurate earth vector direction, in order to achieve the high precision autonomous navigation. Firstly, combining the stable characters of earth ultraviolet radiance and the use of transmission model software of atmospheric radiation, the paper simulates earth ultraviolet radiation model on different time and chooses the proper observation band. Then the fast improved edge extracting method combined Sobel operator and local binary pattern (LBP) is utilized, which can both eliminate noises efficiently and extract earth ultraviolet limb features accurately. And earth's centroid locations on simulated images are estimated via the least square fitting method using part of the limb edges. Taken advantage of the estimated earth vector direction and earth distance, Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) is applied to realize the autonomous navigation finally. Experiment results indicate the proposed method can achieve a sub-pixel earth centroid location estimation and extremely enhance autonomous celestial navigation precision.

An integrated parity-time symmetric wavelength-tunable single-mode microring laser.

PubMed

Liu, Weilin; Li, Ming; Guzzon, Robert S; Norberg, Erik J; Parker, John S; Lu, Mingzhi; Coldren, Larry A; Yao, Jianping

2017-05-12

Mode control in a laser cavity is critical for a stable single-mode operation of a ring laser. In this study we propose and experimentally demonstrate an electrically pumped parity-time (PT)-symmetric microring laser with precise mode control, to achieve wavelength-tunable single-mode lasing with an improved mode suppression ratio. The proposed PT-symmetric laser is implemented based on a photonic integrated circuit consisting of two mutually coupled active microring resonators. By incorporating multiple semiconductor optical amplifiers in the microring resonators, the PT-symmetry condition can be achieved by a precise manipulation of the interplay between the gain and loss in the two microring resonators, and the incorporation of phase modulators in the microring resonators enables continuous wavelength tuning. Single-mode lasing at 1,554.148 nm with a sidemode suppression ratio exceeding 36 dB is demonstrated and the lasing wavelength is continuously tunable from 1,553.800 to 1,554.020 nm.

Micromachined evaporators for AMTEC cells

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Izenson, M.G.; Crowley, C.J.

1996-12-31

To achieve high cell efficiency and reliability, the capillary pumping system for Alkali Metal Thermal to Electric Conversion (AMTEC) must have three key characteristics: (1) very small pores to achieve a high capillary pumping head, (2) high permeability for the flow of liquid sodium to minimize internal losses, and (3) be made from a material that is exceptionally stable at high temperatures in a sodium environment. The authors have developed micromachining techniques to manufacture high performance evaporators for AMTEC cells. The evaporators have been fabricated from stainless steel, molybdenum, and a niobium alloy (Nb-1Zr). The regular, micromachined structure leads tomore » very high capillary pumping head with high permeability for liquid flow. Data from tests performed with common fluids at room temperature characterize the capillary pumping head and permeability of these structures. Three micromachined evaporators have been built into AMTEC cells and operated at temperatures up to 1,100 K. Results from these tests confirm the excellent pumping capabilities of the micromachined evaporators.« less

Development of a New Generation of Stable, Tunable, and Catalytically Active Nanoparticles Produced by the Helium Nanodroplet Deposition Method

DOE PAGES

Wu, Qiyuan; Ridge, Claron J.; Zhao, Shen; ...

2016-07-13

Nanoparticles (NPs) are revolutionizing many areas of science and technology, often delivering unprecedented improvements to properties of the conventional materials. However, despite important advances in NPs synthesis and applications, numerous challenges still remain. Development of alternative synthetic method capable of producing very uniform, extremely clean and very stable NPs is urgently needed. If successful, such method can potentially transform several areas of nanoscience, including environmental and energy related catalysis. Here we present the first experimental demonstration of catalytically active NPs synthesis achieved by the helium nanodroplet isolation method. This alternative method of NPs fabrication and deposition produces narrowly distributed, clean,more » and remarkably stable NPs. The fabrication is achieved inside ultra-low temperature, superfluid helium nanodroplets, which can be subsequently deposited onto any substrate. Lastly, this technique is universal enough to be applied to nearly any element, while achieving high deposition rates for single element as well as composite core-shell NPs.« less

Operation of a wet near-field scanning optical microscope in stable zones by minimizing the resonance change of tuning forks.

PubMed

Park, Kyoung-Duck; Park, Doo Jae; Lee, Seung Gol; Choi, Geunchang; Kim, Dai-Sik; Byeon, Clare Chisu; Choi, Soo Bong; Jeong, Mun Seok

2014-02-21

A resonant shift and a decrease of resonance quality of a tuning fork attached to a conventional fiber optic probe in the vicinity of liquid is monitored systematically while varying the protrusion length and immersion depth of the probe. Stable zones where the resonance modification as a function of immersion depth is minimized are observed. A wet near-field scanning optical microscope (wet-NSOM) is operated for a sample within water by using such a stable zone.

[Operative treatment of proximal humeral four-part fractures in elderly patients: comparison of two angular-stable implant systems].

PubMed

Kuhlmann, T; Hofmann, T; Seibert, O; Gundlach, G; Schmidt-Horlohé, K; Hoffmann, R

2012-04-01

Although being one of the most common fractures in elderly patients, there is still no standardised treatment protocol for four-part fractures of the proximal humerus. However, a wide variety of angular-stable implants is available. The present retrospective study compares the clinical and radiological outcome following operative treatment of four-part fractures of the proximal humerus with the Philos system (Philos, proximal humeral internal locking system, Synthes GmbH, Umkirch Germany) and the angular-stable Königsee plate system (Königsee Implantate GmbH, Allendorf, Germany) in patients older than 65 years. From July 2005 until December 2007 we identified 77 patients with a four-part fracture of the proximal humerus who were treated operatively with one of the two implant systems. Of the patients, 17 could not be located so that in total 60 patients (78 %) participated in this study. The mean age of the 30 patients (10 m, 20 f) in the Philos group was 69 years (65-92), whereas the mean age of the 30 patients (11 m, 19 f) in the Königsee group was 71 years (65-93). A comprehensive assessment was performed after a median of 17 months (12-24), including physical examination, radiographic examination and completion of the disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand score (DASH) and the Constant score (CS) as patient-oriented, limb-specific questionnaires. Neither in the Philos nor in the Königsee group could excellent results be achieved. Using the CS 13 patients (43 %) of the Philos group achieved a good and 15 (50 %) a satisfactory result. Bad results were found in 2 patients (7 %). The mean CS was 61.53 points. In the Königsee group mean CS was 61.76 points. In detail, 14 patients (47 %) treated with the Königsee implant were rated as good and 15 (50 %) as satisfactory. Only 1 patient (3 %) was rated as poor. No significant statistical differences were found between the groups. Mean DASH score in the Philos group was 56.30 points and 55.37 points in the Königsee group. Again, no statistical difference was found. Partial humeral head necrosis was observed in 2 patients of the Philos and 1 of the Königsee group. In the remaining patients uneventful fracture consolidation was observed. There were no complications requiring further surgical intervention. To the date of follow-up all implants were still in situ and none of the patients reported discomfort with respect to the hardware. In this study we were able to demonstrate that good and satisfactory results can be achieved in the majority of patients, regardless of whether a Philos or a Königsee system was used. Significant differences between the two groups could not be found in any of the performed examinations. Both implants seem to be suitable in four-part fractures of the proximal humerus. However, the Königsee plate represents a more cost-effective option compared to the Philos system. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Entropy Stable Staggered Grid Spectral Collocation for the Burgers' and Compressible Navier-Stokes Equations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carpenter, Mark H.; Parsani, Matteo; Fisher, Travis C.; Nielsen, Eric J.

2015-01-01

Staggered grid, entropy stable discontinuous spectral collocation operators of any order are developed for Burgers' and the compressible Navier-Stokes equations on unstructured hexahedral elements. This generalization of previous entropy stable spectral collocation work [1, 2], extends the applicable set of points from tensor product, Legendre-Gauss-Lobatto (LGL) to a combination of tensor product Legendre-Gauss (LG) and LGL points. The new semi-discrete operators discretely conserve mass, momentum, energy and satisfy a mathematical entropy inequality for both Burgers' and the compressible Navier-Stokes equations in three spatial dimensions. They are valid for smooth as well as discontinuous flows. The staggered LG and conventional LGL point formulations are compared on several challenging test problems. The staggered LG operators are significantly more accurate, although more costly to implement. The LG and LGL operators exhibit similar robustness, as is demonstrated using test problems known to be problematic for operators that lack a nonlinearly stability proof for the compressible Navier-Stokes equations (e.g., discontinuous Galerkin, spectral difference, or flux reconstruction operators).

Does Early Mathematics Intervention Change the Processes Underlying Children’s Learning?

PubMed Central

Watts, Tyler W.; Clements, Douglas H.; Sarama, Julie; Wolfe, Christopher B.; Spitler, Mary Elaine; Bailey, Drew H.

2017-01-01

Early educational intervention effects typically fade in the years following treatment, and few studies have investigated why achievement impacts diminish over time. The current study tested the effects of a preschool mathematics intervention on two aspects of children’s mathematical development. We tested for separate effects of the intervention on “state” (occasion-specific) and “trait” (relatively stable) variability in mathematics achievement. Results indicated that, although the treatment had a large impact on state mathematics, the treatment had no effect on trait mathematics, or the aspect of mathematics achievement that influences stable individual differences in mathematics achievement over time. Results did suggest, however, that the intervention could affect the underlying processes in children’s mathematical development by inducing more transfer of knowledge immediately following the intervention for students in the treated group. PMID:29399243

Frequency-Stable Ionic-Type Hybrid Gate Dielectrics for High Mobility Solution-Processed Metal-Oxide Thin-Film Transistors

PubMed Central

Heo, Jae Sang; Choi, Seungbeom; Jo, Jeong-Wan; Kang, Jingu; Park, Ho-Hyun; Kim, Yong-Hoon; Park, Sung Kyu

2017-01-01

In this paper, we demonstrate high mobility solution-processed metal-oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) by using a high-frequency-stable ionic-type hybrid gate dielectric (HGD). The HGD gate dielectric, a blend of sol-gel aluminum oxide (AlOx) and poly(4-vinylphenol) (PVP), exhibited high dielectric constant (ε~8.15) and high-frequency-stable characteristics (1 MHz). Using the ionic-type HGD as a gate dielectric layer, an minimal electron-double-layer (EDL) can be formed at the gate dielectric/InOx interface, enhancing the field-effect mobility of the TFTs. Particularly, using the ionic-type HGD gate dielectrics annealed at 350 °C, InOx TFTs having an average field-effect mobility of 16.1 cm2/Vs were achieved (maximum mobility of 24 cm2/Vs). Furthermore, the ionic-type HGD gate dielectrics can be processed at a low temperature of 150 °C, which may enable their applications in low-thermal-budget plastic and elastomeric substrates. In addition, we systematically studied the operational stability of the InOx TFTs using the HGD gate dielectric, and it was observed that the HGD gate dielectric effectively suppressed the negative threshold voltage shift during the negative-illumination-bias stress possibly owing to the recombination of hole carriers injected in the gate dielectric with the negatively charged ionic species in the HGD gate dielectric. PMID:28772972

Uncertainty and operational considerations in mass prophylaxis workforce planning.

PubMed

Hupert, Nathaniel; Xiong, Wei; King, Kathleen; Castorena, Michelle; Hawkins, Caitlin; Wu, Cindie; Muckstadt, John A

2009-12-01

The public health response to an influenza pandemic or other large-scale health emergency may include mass prophylaxis using multiple points of dispensing (PODs) to deliver countermeasures rapidly to affected populations. Computer models created to date to determine "optimal" staffing levels at PODs typically assume stable patient demand for service. The authors investigated POD function under dynamic and uncertain operational environments. The authors constructed a Monte Carlo simulation model of mass prophylaxis (the Dynamic POD Simulator, or D-PODS) to assess the consequences of nonstationary patient arrival patterns on POD function under a variety of POD layouts and staffing plans. Compared are the performance of a standard POD layout under steady-state and variable patient arrival rates that may mimic real-life variation in patient demand. To achieve similar performance, PODs functioning under nonstationary patient arrival rates require higher staffing levels than would be predicted using the assumption of stationary arrival rates. Furthermore, PODs may develop severe bottlenecks unless staffing levels vary over time to meet changing patient arrival patterns. Efficient POD networks therefore require command and control systems capable of dynamically adjusting intra- and inter-POD staff levels to meet demand. In addition, under real-world operating conditions of heightened uncertainty, fewer large PODs will require a smaller total staff than many small PODs to achieve comparable performance. Modeling environments that capture the effects of fundamental uncertainties in public health disasters are essential for the realistic evaluation of response mechanisms and policies. D-PODS quantifies POD operational efficiency under more realistic conditions than have been modeled previously. The authors' experiments demonstrate that effective POD staffing plans must be responsive to variation and uncertainty in POD arrival patterns. These experiments highlight the need for command and control systems to be created to manage emergency response successfully.

Unstable behaviour of RPT when testing turbine characteristics in the laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nielsen, T. K.; Fjørtoft Svarstad, M.

2014-03-01

A reversible pump turbine is a machine that can operate in three modes of operation i.e. in pumping mode. in turbine mode and in phase compensating mode (idle speed). Reversible pump turbines have an increasing importance for regulation purposes for obtaining power balance in electric power systems. Especially in grids dominated by thermal energy. reversible pump turbines improve the overall power regulating ability. Increased use of renewables (wind-. wave- and tidal power plants) will utterly demand better regulation ability of the traditional water power systems. enhancing the use of reversible pump turbines. A reversible pump turbine is known for having incredible steep speed - flow characteristics. As the speed increases the flow decreases more than that of a Francis turbines with the same specific speed. The steep characteristics might cause severe stability problems in turbine mode of operation. Stability in idle speed is a necessity for phasing in the generator to the electric grid. In the design process of a power plant. system dynamic simulations must be performed in order to check the system stability. The turbine characteristics will have to be modelled with certain accuracy even before one knows the exact turbine design and have measured characteristics. A representation of the RPT characteristics for system dynamic simulation purposes is suggested and compared with measured characteristics. The model shows good agreement with RPT characteristics measured in The Waterpower Laboratory. Because of the S-shaped characteristics. there is a stability issue involved when measuring these characteristics. Without special measures. it is impossible to achieve stable conditions in certain operational points. The paper discusses the mechanism when using a throttle to achieve system stability. even if the turbine characteristics imply instability.

Preview Scheduled Model Predictive Control For Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laks, Jason H.

This research investigates the use of model predictive control (MPC) in application to wind turbine operation from start-up to cut-out. The studies conducted are focused on the design of an MPC controller for a 650˜KW, three-bladed horizontal axis turbine that is in operation at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's National Wind Technology Center outside of Golden, Colorado. This turbine is at the small end of utility scale turbines, but it provides advanced instrumentation and control capabilities, and there is a good probability that the approach developed in simulation for this thesis, will be field tested on the actual turbine. A contribution of this thesis is a method to combine the use of preview measurements with MPC while also providing regulation of turbine speed and cyclic blade loading. A common MPC technique provides integral-like control to achieve offset-free operation. At the same time in wind turbine applications, multiple studies have developed "feed-forward" controls based on applying a gain to an estimate of the wind speed changes obtained from an observer incorporating a disturbance model. These approaches are based on a technique that can be referred to as disturbance accommodating control (DAC). In this thesis, it is shown that offset-free tracking MPC is equivalent to a DAC approach when the disturbance gain is computed to satisfy a regulator equation. Although the MPC literature has recognized that this approach provides "structurally stable" disturbance rejection and tracking, this step is not typically divorced from the MPC computations repeated each sample hit. The DAC formulation is conceptually simpler, and essentially uncouples regulation considerations from MPC related issues. This thesis provides a self contained proof that the DAC formulation (an observer-controller and appropriate disturbance gain) provides structurally stable regulation.

Scalable 96-well Plate Based iPSC Culture and Production Using a Robotic Liquid Handling System.

PubMed

Conway, Michael K; Gerger, Michael J; Balay, Erin E; O'Connell, Rachel; Hanson, Seth; Daily, Neil J; Wakatsuki, Tetsuro

2015-05-14

Continued advancement in pluripotent stem cell culture is closing the gap between bench and bedside for using these cells in regenerative medicine, drug discovery and safety testing. In order to produce stem cell derived biopharmaceutics and cells for tissue engineering and transplantation, a cost-effective cell-manufacturing technology is essential. Maintenance of pluripotency and stable performance of cells in downstream applications (e.g., cell differentiation) over time is paramount to large scale cell production. Yet that can be difficult to achieve especially if cells are cultured manually where the operator can introduce significant variability as well as be prohibitively expensive to scale-up. To enable high-throughput, large-scale stem cell production and remove operator influence novel stem cell culture protocols using a bench-top multi-channel liquid handling robot were developed that require minimal technician involvement or experience. With these protocols human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were cultured in feeder-free conditions directly from a frozen stock and maintained in 96-well plates. Depending on cell line and desired scale-up rate, the operator can easily determine when to passage based on a series of images showing the optimal colony densities for splitting. Then the necessary reagents are prepared to perform a colony split to new plates without a centrifugation step. After 20 passages (~3 months), two iPSC lines maintained stable karyotypes, expressed stem cell markers, and differentiated into cardiomyocytes with high efficiency. The system can perform subsequent high-throughput screening of new differentiation protocols or genetic manipulation designed for 96-well plates. This technology will reduce the labor and technical burden to produce large numbers of identical stem cells for a myriad of applications.

Metallization for Yb14MnSb11-Based Thermoelectric Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Firdosy, Samad; Li, Billy Chun-Yip; Ravi, Vilupanur; Sakamoto, Jeffrey; Caillat, Thierry; Ewell, Richard C.; Brandon, Erik J.

2011-01-01

Thermoelectric materials provide a means for converting heat into electrical power using a fully solid-state device. Power-generating devices (which include individual couples as well as multicouple modules) require the use of ntype and p-type thermoelectric materials, typically comprising highly doped narrow band-gap semiconductors which are connected to a heat collector and electrodes. To achieve greater device efficiency and greater specific power will require using new thermoelectric materials, in more complex combinations. One such material is the p-type compound semiconductor Yb14MnSb11 (YMS), which has been demonstrated to have one of the highest ZT values at 1,000 C, the desired operational temperature of many space-based radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). Despite the favorable attributes of the bulk YMS material, it must ultimately be incorporated into a power-generating device using a suitable joining technology. Typically, processes such as diffusion bonding and/or brazing are used to join thermoelectric materials to the heat collector and electrodes, with the goal of providing a stable, ohmic contact with high thermal conductivity at the required operating temperature. Since YMS is an inorganic compound featuring chemical bonds with a mixture of covalent and ionic character, simple metallurgical diffusion bonding is difficult to implement. Furthermore, the Sb within YMS readily reacts with most metals to form antimonide compounds with a wide range of stoichiometries. Although choosing metals that react to form high-melting-point antimonides could be employed to form a stable reaction bond, it is difficult to limit the reactivity of Sb in YMS such that the electrode is not completely consumed at an operating temperature of 1,000 C. Previous attempts to form suitable metallization layers resulted in poor bonding, complete consumption of the metallization layer or fracture within the YMS thermoelement (or leg).

Longitudinal Effects of Perceived Control on Academic Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

You, Sukkyung; Hong, Sehee; Ho, Hsiu-Zu

2011-01-01

It is well established that perceived control plays an important role in student academic achievement, but little is known about its longitudinal stability, ethnic variation, and developmental effects on subsequent achievement during adolescence. Findings from this study indicated (a) perceived control remains stable during adolescence for each of…

Cements and adhesives for all-ceramic restorations.

PubMed

Manso, Adriana P; Silva, Nelson R F A; Bonfante, Estevam A; Pegoraro, Thiago A; Dias, Renata A; Carvalho, Ricardo M

2011-04-01

Dental cements are designed to retain restorations, prefabricated or cast posts and cores, and appliances in a stable, and long-lasting position in the oral environment. Resin-based cements were developed to overcome drawbacks of nonresinous materials, including low strength, high solubility, and opacity. Successful cementation of esthetic restorations depends on appropriate treatment to the tooth substrate and intaglio surface of the restoration, which in turn, depends on the ceramic characteristics. A reliable resin cementation procedure can only be achieved if the operator is aware of the mechanisms involved to perform the cementation and material properties. This article addresses current knowledge of resin cementation concepts, exploring the bonding mechanisms that influence long-term clinical success of all-ceramic systems. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Highly efficient actively Q-switched Yb:LGGG laser generating 3.26 mJ of pulse energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yanbin; Zhang, Jian; Zhao, Ruwei; Zhang, Baitao; He, Jingliang; Jia, Zhitai; Tao, Xutang

2018-05-01

An efficient acousto-optic Q-switched laser operation of Yb:(LuxGd1-x)3Ga5O12 (x = 0.062) (Yb:LGGG) crystal is demonstrated, producing stable pulses with repetition rate ranging from 1 to 20 kHz. Under the absorbed pump power of 8.75 W, the maximum average output power of 3.26 W is obtained at the pulse repletion rate of 1 kHz, corresponding to the slope efficiency as high as 52%. The pulse width of 14.5 ns is achieved with the pulse energy and peak power of 3.26 mJ and 225 kW, respectively. It indicates great potential of Yb:LGGG crystal for generating pulsed lasers.

Adaptive optics for array telescopes using piston-and-tilt wave-front sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wizinowich, P.; Mcleod, B.; Lloyd-Yhart, M.; Angel, J. R. P.; Colucci, D.; Dekany, R.; Mccarthy, D.; Wittman, D.; Scott-Fleming, I.

1992-01-01

A near-infrared adaptive optics system operating at about 50 Hz has been used to control phase errors adaptively between two mirrors of the Multiple Mirror Telescope by stabilizing the position of the interference fringe in the combined unresolved far-field image. The resultant integrated images have angular resolutions of better than 0.1 arcsec and fringe contrasts of more than 0.6. Measurements of wave-front tilt have confirmed the wavelength independence of image motion. These results show that interferometric sensing of phase errors, when combined with a system for sensing the wave-front tilt of the individual telescopes, will provide a means of achieving a stable diffraction-limited focus with segmented telescopes or arrays of telescopes.

Periodic-disturbance accommodating control of the space station for asymptotic momentum management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Warren, Wayne; Wie, Bong

1989-01-01

Periodic maneuvering control is developed for asymptotic momentum management of control gyros used as primary actuating devices for the Space Station. The proposed controller utilizes the concepts of quaternion feedback control and periodic-disturbance accommodation to achieve oscillations about the constant torque equilibrium attitude, while minimizing the control effort required. Three-axis coupled equations of motion, written in terms of quaternions, are derived for roll/yaw controller design and stability analysis. It is shown that the quaternion feedback controller is very robust for a wide range of pitch angles. It is also shown that the proposed controller tunes the open-loop unstable vehicle to a stable oscillatory motion which minimizes the control effort needed for steady-state operations.

Methods and Research for Multi-Component Cutting Force Sensing Devices and Approaches in Machining

PubMed Central

Liang, Qiaokang; Zhang, Dan; Wu, Wanneng; Zou, Kunlin

2016-01-01

Multi-component cutting force sensing systems in manufacturing processes applied to cutting tools are gradually becoming the most significant monitoring indicator. Their signals have been extensively applied to evaluate the machinability of workpiece materials, predict cutter breakage, estimate cutting tool wear, control machine tool chatter, determine stable machining parameters, and improve surface finish. Robust and effective sensing systems with capability of monitoring the cutting force in machine operations in real time are crucial for realizing the full potential of cutting capabilities of computer numerically controlled (CNC) tools. The main objective of this paper is to present a brief review of the existing achievements in the field of multi-component cutting force sensing systems in modern manufacturing. PMID:27854322

Methods and Research for Multi-Component Cutting Force Sensing Devices and Approaches in Machining.

PubMed

Liang, Qiaokang; Zhang, Dan; Wu, Wanneng; Zou, Kunlin

2016-11-16

Multi-component cutting force sensing systems in manufacturing processes applied to cutting tools are gradually becoming the most significant monitoring indicator. Their signals have been extensively applied to evaluate the machinability of workpiece materials, predict cutter breakage, estimate cutting tool wear, control machine tool chatter, determine stable machining parameters, and improve surface finish. Robust and effective sensing systems with capability of monitoring the cutting force in machine operations in real time are crucial for realizing the full potential of cutting capabilities of computer numerically controlled (CNC) tools. The main objective of this paper is to present a brief review of the existing achievements in the field of multi-component cutting force sensing systems in modern manufacturing.

Telemanipulation of cooperative robots: a case of study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pliego-Jiménez, Javier; Arteaga-Pérez, Marco

2018-06-01

This article addresses the problem of dexterous robotic grasping by means of a telemanipulation system composed of a single master and two slave robot manipulators. The slave robots are analysed as a cooperative system where it is assumed that the robots can push but not pull the object. In order to achieve a stable rigid grasp, a centralised adaptive position-force control algorithm for the slave robots is proposed. On the other hand, a linear velocity observer for the master robot is developed to avoid numerical differentiation. A set of experiments with different human operators were carried out to show the good performance and capabilities of the proposed control-observer algorithm. In addition, the dynamic model and closed-loop dynamics of the telemanipulation is presented.

In Vivo Stable Transduction of Humanized Liver Tissue in Chimeric Mice via High-Capacity Adenovirus–Lentivirus Hybrid Vector

PubMed Central

Kataoka, Miho; Tateno, Chise; Yoshizato, Katsutoshi; Kawasaki, Yoshiko; Kimura, Takahiro; Faure-Kumar, Emmanuelle; Palmer, Donna J.; Ng, Philip; Okamura, Haruki; Kasahara, Noriyuki

2010-01-01

Abstract We developed hybrid vectors employing high-capacity adenovirus as a first-stage carrier encoding all the components required for in situ production of a second-stage lentivirus, thereby achieving stable transgene expression in secondary target cells. Such vectors have never previously been tested in normal tissues, because of the scarcity of suitable in vivo systems permissive for second-stage lentivirus assembly. Here we employed a novel murine model in which endogenous liver tissue is extensively reconstituted with engrafted human hepatocytes, and successfully achieved stable transduction by the second-stage lentivirus produced in situ from first-stage adenovirus. This represents the first demonstration of the functionality of adenoviral-lentiviral hybrid vectors in a normal parenchymal organ in vivo. PMID:19725756

Revisiting and Extending Interface Penalties for Multi-Domain Summation-by-Parts Operators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carpenter, Mark H.; Nordstrom, Jan; Gottlieb, David

2007-01-01

General interface coupling conditions are presented for multi-domain collocation methods, which satisfy the summation-by-parts (SBP) spatial discretization convention. The combined interior/interface operators are proven to be L2 stable, pointwise stable, and conservative, while maintaining the underlying accuracy of the interior SBP operator. The new interface conditions resemble (and were motivated by) those used in the discontinuous Galerkin finite element community, and maintain many of the same properties. Extensive validation studies are presented using two classes of high-order SBP operators: 1) central finite difference, and 2) Legendre spectral collocation.

High-efficiency white OLEDs based on small molecules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hatwar, Tukaram K.; Spindler, Jeffrey P.; Ricks, M. L.; Young, Ralph H.; Hamada, Yuuhiko; Saito, N.; Mameno, Kazunobu; Nishikawa, Ryuji; Takahashi, Hisakazu; Rajeswaran, G.

2004-02-01

Eastman Kodak Company and SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. recently demonstrated a 15" full-color, organic light-emitting diode display (OLED) using a high-efficiency white emitter combined with a color-filter array. Although useful for display applications, white emission from organic structures is also under consideration for other applications, such as solid-state lighting, where high efficiency and good color rendition are important. By incorporating adjacent blue and orange emitting layers in a multi-layer structure, highly efficient, stable white emission has been attained. With suitable host and dopant combinations, a luminance yield of 20 cd/A and efficiency of 8 lm/W have been achieved at a drive voltage of less than 8 volts and luminance level of 1000 cd/m2. The estimated external efficiency of this device is 6.3% and a high level of operational stability is observed. To our knowledge, this is the highest performance reported so far for white organic electroluminescent devices. We will review white OLED technology and discuss the fabrication and operating characteristics of these devices.

Integrated modeling of high βN steady state scenario on DIII-D

DOE PAGES

Park, Jin Myung; Ferron, J. R.; Holcomb, Christopher T.; ...

2018-01-10

Theory-based integrated modeling validated against DIII-D experiments predicts that fully non-inductive DIII-D operation with β N > 4.5 is possible with certain upgrades. IPS-FASTRAN is a new iterative numerical procedure that integrates models of core transport, edge pedestal, equilibrium, stability, heating, and current drive self-consistently to find steady-state ( d/dt = 0) solutions and reproduces most features of DIII-D high β N discharges with a stationary current profile. Projecting forward to scenarios possible on DIII-D with future upgrades, the high q min > 2 scenario achieves stable operation at β N as high as 5 by using a very broadmore » current density profile to improve the ideal-wall stabilization of low- n instabilities along with confinement enhancement from low magnetic shear. This modeling guides the necessary upgrades of the heating and current drive system to realize reactor-relevant high β N steady-state scenarios on DIII-D by simultaneous optimization of the current and pressure profiles.« less

Ultrasensitive Nanoelectrospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry using Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Microchips with Monolithically Integrated Emitters

PubMed Central

Sun, Xuefei; Kelly, Ryan T.; Tang, Keqi; Smith, Richard D.

2010-01-01

Summary Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) is a widely used substrate for microfluidic devices, as it enables facile fabrication and has other distinctive properties. However, for applications requiring highly sensitive nanoelectrospray ionization mass spectrometry (nanoESI-MS) detection, the use of PDMS microdevices has been hindered by a large chemical background in the mass spectra that originates from the leaching of uncross-linked oligomers and other contaminants from the substrate. A more general challenge is that microfluidic devices containing monolithically integrated electrospray emitters are frequently unable to operate stably in the nanoflow regime where the best sensitivity is achieved. In this report, we extracted the contaminants from PDMS substrates using a series of solvents, eliminating the background observed when untreated PDMS microchips are used for nanoESI-MS, such that peptides at concentrations of 1 nM were readily detected. Optimization of the integrated emitter geometry enabled stable operation at flow rates as low as 10 nL/min. PMID:20617264

A curved electrode electrostatic actuator designed for large displacement and force in an underwater environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Preetham, B. S.; Lake, Melinda A.; Hoelzle, David J.

2017-09-01

There is a need for the development of large displacement (O (10-6) m) and force (O (10-6) N) electrostatic actuators with low actuation voltages (<  ±8 V) for underwater bio-MEMS applications. In this paper, we present the design, fabrication, and characterization of a curved electrode electrostatic actuator in a clamped-clamped beam configuration meant to operate in an underwater environment. Our curved electrode actuator is unique in that it operates in a stable manner past the pull-in instability. Models based on the Rayleigh-Ritz method accurately predict the onset of static instability and the displacement versus voltage function, as validated by quasistatic experiments. We demonstrate that the actuator is capable of achieving a large peak-to-peak displacement of 19.5 µm and force of 43 µN for a low actuation voltage of less than  ±8 V and is thus appropriate for underwater bio-MEMS applications.

Alginate-Encapsulated Bacteria for the Treatment of Hypersaline Solutions in Microbial Fuel Cells.

PubMed

Alkotaini, Bassam; Tinucci, Samantha L; Robertson, Stuart J; Hasan, Kamrul; Minteer, Shelley D; Grattieri, Matteo

2018-04-27

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) based on a new wild-type strain of Salinivibrio sp. allowed the self-sustained treatment of hypersaline solutions (100 g L -1 , 1.71 m NaCl), reaching a removal of (87±11) % of the initial chemical oxygen demand after five days of operation, being the highest value achieved for hypersaline MFC. The degradation process and the evolution of the open circuit potential of the MFCs were correlated, opening the possibility for online monitoring of the treatment. The use of alginate capsules to trap bacterial cells, increasing cell density and stability, resulted in an eightfold higher power output, together with a more stable system, allowing operation up to five months with no maintenance required. The reported results are of critical importance to efforts to develop a sustainable and cost-effective system that treats hypersaline waste streams and reduces the quantity of polluting compounds released. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Mode Behavior in Ultralarge Ring Lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hurst, Robert B.; Dunn, Robert W.; Schreiber, K. Ulrich; Thirkettle, Robert J.; MacDonald, Graeme K.

2004-04-01

Contrary to expectations based on mode spacing, single-mode operation in very large He-Ne ring lasers may be achieved at intracavity power levels up to ~0.15 times the saturation intensity for the He-Ne transition. Homogeneous line broadening at a high total gas pressure of 4-6 Torr allows a single-peaked gain profile that suppresses closely spaced multiple modes. At startup, decay of initial multiple modes may take tens of seconds. The single remaining mode in each direction persists metastably as the cavity is detuned by many times the mode frequency spacing. A theoretical explanation requires the gain profile to be concave down and to satisfy an inequality related to slope and saturation at the operating frequency. Calculated metastable frequency ranges are greater than 150 MHz at 6 Torr and depend strongly on pressure. Examples of unusual stable mode configurations are shown, with differently numbered modes in the two directions and with multiple modes at a spacing of ~100 MHz.

Mode behavior in ultralarge ring lasers.

PubMed

Hurst, Robert B; Dunn, Robert W; Schreiber, K Ulrich; Thirkettle, Robert J; MacDonald, Graeme K

2004-04-10

Contrary to expectations based on mode spacing, single-mode operation in very large He-Ne ring lasers may be achieved at intracavity power levels up to approximately0.15 times the saturation intensity for the He-Ne transition. Homogeneous line broadening at a high total gas pressure of 4-6 Torr allows a single-peaked gain profile that suppresses closely spaced multiple modes. At startup, decay of initial multiple modes may take tens of seconds. The single remaining mode in each direction persists metastably as the cavity is detuned by many times the mode frequency spacing. A theoretical explanation requires the gain profile to be concave down and to satisfy an inequality related to slope and saturation at the operating frequency. Calculated metastable frequency ranges are > 150 MHz at 6 Torr and depend strongly on pressure. Examples of unusual stable mode configurations are shown, with differently numbered modes in the two directions and with multiple modes at a spacing of approximately 100 MHz.

Stability analysis of a two-stage tapered gyrotron traveling-wave tube amplifier with distributed losses

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hung, C. L.; Lian, Y. H.; Cheng, N. H.

2012-11-15

The two-stage tapered gyrotron traveling-wave tube (gyro-TWT) amplifier has achieved wide bandwidth in the millimeter wave range. However, possible oscillations in each stage limit this amplifier's operating beam current and thus its output power. To further enhance the amplifier's stability, distributed losses are applied to the interaction circuit of the two-stage tapered gyro-TWT. A self-consistent particle-tracing code is used for analyzing the beam-wave interactions. The stability analysis includes the effects of the wall losses and the length of each stage on the possible oscillations. Simulation results reveal that the distributed-loss method effectively stabilizes all the oscillations in the two stages.more » Under stable operating conditions, the device is predicted to produce a peak power of 60 kW with an efficiency of 29% and a saturated gain of 52 dB in the Ka-band. The 3-dB bandwidth is 5.7 GHz, which is approximately 16% of the center frequency.« less

A biofilter integrated with gas membrane separation unit for the treatment of fluctuating styrene loads.

PubMed

Li, Lin; Lian, Jing; Han, Yunping; Liu, Junxin

2012-05-01

Biofiltration for volatile organic compound control in waste gas streams is best operated at steady contaminant loadings. To provide long-term stable operation of a biofilter under adverse contaminant feeding conditions, an integrated bioreactor system with a gas separation membrane module installed after a biofilter was proposed for styrene treatment. Styrene was treated effectively, with average styrene effluent concentrations maintained at less than 50 mg m(-3) and a total removal efficiency of over 96% achieved when the biofiltration column faced fluctuating loads. The maximum elimination capacity of the integrated bioreactor system was 93.8 g m(-3)h(-1), which was higher than that obtained with the biofiltration column alone. The combination of these two processes (microbial and chemical) led to more efficient elimination of styrene and buffering of the fluctuating loads. The factors on gas membrane separation, microbial characteristics in the integrated bioreactor and membrane fouling were also investigated in this study. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fluid dynamic characteristics of the VentrAssist rotary blood pump.

PubMed

Tansley, G; Vidakovic, S; Reizes, J

2000-06-01

The VentrAssist pump has no shaft or seal, and the device is unique in design because the rotor is suspended passively by hydrodynamic forces, and urging is accomplished by an integrated direct current motor rotor that also acts as the pump impeller. This device has led to many challenges in its fluidic design, namely large flow-blockage from impeller blades, low stiffness of bearings with concomitant impeller displacement under pulsatile load conditions, and very small running clearances. Low specific speed and radial blade off-flow were selected in order to minimize the hemolysis. Pulsatile and steady-flow tests show the impeller is stable under normal operating conditions. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been used to optimize flow paths and reduce net axial force imbalance to acceptably small values. The latest design of the pump achieved a system efficiency of 18% (in 30% hematocrit of red blood cells suspended in phosphate-buffered saline), and efficiency was optimized over the range of operating conditions. Parameters critical to improving pump efficiency were investigated.

Cognitive accuracy and intelligent executive function in the brain and in business.

PubMed

Bailey, Charles E

2007-11-01

This article reviews research on cognition, language, organizational culture, brain, behavior, and evolution to posit the value of operating with a stable reference point based on cognitive accuracy and a rational bias. Drawing on rational-emotive behavioral science, social neuroscience, and cognitive organizational science on the one hand and a general model of brain and frontal lobe executive function on the other, I suggest implications for organizational success. Cognitive thought processes depend on specific brain structures functioning as effectively as possible under conditions of cognitive accuracy. However, typical cognitive processes in hierarchical business structures promote the adoption and application of subjective organizational beliefs and, thus, cognitive inaccuracies. Applying informed frontal lobe executive functioning to cognition, emotion, and organizational behavior helps minimize the negative effects of indiscriminate application of personal and cultural belief systems to business. Doing so enhances cognitive accuracy and improves communication and cooperation. Organizations operating with cognitive accuracy will tend to respond more nimbly to market pressures and achieve an overall higher level of performance and employee satisfaction.

Broadband frequency and angular response of a sinusoidal bull’s eye antenna

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beaskoetxea, U.; Navarro-Cía, M.; Beruete, M.

2016-07-01

A thorough experimental study of the frequency and beaming angle response of a metallic leaky-wave bull’s eye antenna working at 77 GHz with a sinusoidally corrugated profile is presented. The beam scanning property of these antennas as frequency is varied is experimentally demonstrated and corroborated through theoretical and numerical results. From the experimental results the dispersion diagram of the n  =  -1 and n  =  -2 space harmonics is extracted, and the operation at different frequency regimes is identified and discussed. In order to show the contribution of each half of the antenna, numerical examples of the near-field behavior are also displayed. Overall, experimental results are in good qualitative and quantitative agreement with theoretical and numerical calculations. Finally, an analysis of the beamwidth as a function of frequency is performed, showing that it can achieve values below 1.5° in a fractional bandwidth of 4% around the operation frequency, which is an interesting frequency-stable broadside radiation.

Quantitative analysis and temperature-induced variations of moiré pattern in fiber-coupled imaging sensors.

PubMed

Karbasi, Salman; Arianpour, Ashkan; Motamedi, Nojan; Mellette, William M; Ford, Joseph E

2015-06-10

Imaging fiber bundles can map the curved image surface formed by some high-performance lenses onto flat focal plane detectors. The relative alignment between the focal plane array pixels and the quasi-periodic fiber-bundle cores can impose an undesirable space variant moiré pattern, but this effect may be greatly reduced by flat-field calibration, provided that the local responsivity is known. Here we demonstrate a stable metric for spatial analysis of the moiré pattern strength, and use it to quantify the effect of relative sensor and fiber-bundle pitch, and that of the Bayer color filter. We measure the thermal dependence of the moiré pattern, and the achievable improvement by flat-field calibration at different operating temperatures. We show that a flat-field calibration image at a desired operating temperature can be generated using linear interpolation between white images at several fixed temperatures, comparing the final image quality with an experimentally acquired image at the same temperature.

Open reduction internal fixation of the unstable mallet fracture.

PubMed

Phadnis, Joideep; Yousaf, Sohail; Little, Nicholas; Chidambaram, Ramiah; Mok, Daniel

2010-09-01

Unstable mallet fractures of the digit pose a challenge when treated surgically. We present the results of a technique, not earlier described, for the fixation of these uncommon injuries. The technique involves anatomical reduction and stable fixation of the distal articular fragment combined with stabilization of the distal interphalangeal joint with buried Kirschner wires allowing early mobilization of the digit. Twenty patients with an average follow-up of 12.7 months (10 mo to 21 mo) are presented. Results were good/excellent (Crawford's criteria) in 16 patients, fair in 3, and poor in 1 with those operated upon within 2 weeks postinjury achieving the best results. There were no incidences of fixation failure, loss of reduction, or posttraumatic osteoarthritis. One patient had a minor infection, but there were no cases of nail deformity or wound breakdown. There was high patient satisfaction and all patients returned to work after treatment. We conclude that this is a reliable technique with minimal complications and is comparable with other published operative and nonoperative treatment modalities.

Manipulating Ion Migration for Highly Stable Light-Emitting Diodes with Single-Crystalline Organometal Halide Perovskite Microplatelets.

PubMed

Chen, Mingming; Shan, Xin; Geske, Thomas; Li, Junqiang; Yu, Zhibin

2017-06-27

Ion migration has been commonly observed as a detrimental phenomenon in organometal halide perovskite semiconductors, causing the measurement hysteresis in solar cells and ultrashort operation lifetimes in light-emitting diodes. In this work, ion migration is utilized for the formation of a p-i-n junction at ambient temperature in single-crystalline organometal halide perovskites. The junction is subsequently stabilized by quenching the ionic movement at a low temperature. Such a strategy of manipulating the ion migration has led to efficient single-crystalline light-emitting diodes that emit 2.3 eV photons starting at 1.8 V and sustain a continuous operation for 54 h at ∼5000 cd m -2 without degradation of brightness. In addition, a whispering-gallery-mode cavity and exciton-exciton interaction in the perovskite microplatelets have both been observed that can be potentially useful for achieving electrically driven laser diodes based on single-crystalline organometal halide perovskite semiconductors.

Integrated modeling of high βN steady state scenario on DIII-D

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Park, Jin Myung; Ferron, J. R.; Holcomb, Christopher T.

Theory-based integrated modeling validated against DIII-D experiments predicts that fully non-inductive DIII-D operation with β N > 4.5 is possible with certain upgrades. IPS-FASTRAN is a new iterative numerical procedure that integrates models of core transport, edge pedestal, equilibrium, stability, heating, and current drive self-consistently to find steady-state ( d/dt = 0) solutions and reproduces most features of DIII-D high β N discharges with a stationary current profile. Projecting forward to scenarios possible on DIII-D with future upgrades, the high q min > 2 scenario achieves stable operation at β N as high as 5 by using a very broadmore » current density profile to improve the ideal-wall stabilization of low- n instabilities along with confinement enhancement from low magnetic shear. This modeling guides the necessary upgrades of the heating and current drive system to realize reactor-relevant high β N steady-state scenarios on DIII-D by simultaneous optimization of the current and pressure profiles.« less

All-fiber thulium/holmium-doped mode-locked laser by tungsten disulfide saturable absorber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Hao; Zheng, Xin; Yin, Ke; Cheng, Xiang'ai; Jiang, Tian

2017-01-01

A passively mode-locked thulium/holmium-doped fiber laser (THDFL) based on tungsten disulfide (WS2) saturable absorber (SA) was demonstrated. The WS2 nanosheets were prepared by liquid phase exfoliation method and the SA was fabricated by depositing the few-layer WS2 nanosheets on the surface of a fiber taper. The modulation depth, saturable intensity, and non-saturable loss of this SA were measured to be 8.2%, 0.82 GW cm-2, and 29.4%, respectively. Based on this SA, a stable mode-locked laser operated at 1.91 µm was achieved with pulse duration of 825 fs and repetition rate of 15.49 MHz, and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 67 dB. Meanwhile, by increasing the pump power and adjusting the position of polarization controller, harmonic mode-locking operations were obtained. These results showed that the WS2 nanosheet-based SA could be served as a desirable candidate for a short-pulse mode locker at 2 µm wavelength.

The role of computer-aided 3D surgery and stereolithographic modelling for vector orientation in premaxillary and trans-sinusoidal maxillary distraction osteogenesis.

PubMed

Varol, Altan; Basa, Selçuk

2009-06-01

Maxillary distraction osteogenesis is a challenging procedure when it is performed with internal submerged distractors due to obligation of setting accurate distraction vectors. Five patients with severe maxillary retrognathy were planned with Mimics 10.01 CMF and Simplant 10.01 software. Distraction vectors and rods of distractors were arranged in 3D environment and on STL models. All patients were operated under general anaesthesia and complete Le Fort I downfracture was performed. All distractions were performed according to orientated vectors. All patients achieved stable occlusion and satisfactory aesthetic outcome at the end of the treatment period. Preoperative bending of internal maxillary distractors prevents significant loss of operation time. 3D computer-aided surgical simulation and model surgery provide accurate orientation of distraction vectors for premaxillary and internal trans-sinusoidal maxillary distraction. Combination of virtual surgical simulation and stereolithographic models surgery can be validated as an effective method of preoperative planning for complicated maxillofacial surgery cases.

Submerged membrane adsorption bioreactor as a pretreatment in seawater desalination for biofouling control.

PubMed

Jeong, Sanghyun; Naidu, Gayathri; Vigneswaran, Saravanamuthu

2013-08-01

Submerged membrane adsorption bioreactor (SMABR) was investigated as a pretreatment to reverse osmosis (RO). SMABR removed organic matter by adsorption and biological degradation. At a powder activated carbon (PAC) residence time of 66 d (1.5% of PAC replacement daily), higher organic removal was achieved with removal of a majority of biopolymers (94-97%) and humics (71-76%). A continuous MBR operation with the optimal PAC residence time of 66 d was conducted and compared with MBR with no PAC replenishment in terms of the removal of organic and microbes. High removal of organics of up to 72% was maintained with only a marginal increment of trans-membrane pressure and stable bioactivity (total cell number and adenosine tri-phosphate) during the 50d of operation. The SMABR was found to be a sustainable biological pretreatment to RO with only a small amount of PAC requirement (2.14 g of PAC/m(3) of seawater treated). Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Precise and long-term stabilization of the carrier-envelope phase of femtosecond laser pulses using an enhanced direct locking technique.

PubMed

Yu, Tae Jun; Hong, Kyung-Han; Choi, Hyun-Gyug; Sung, Jae Hee; Choi, Il Woo; Ko, Do-Kyeong; Lee, Jongmin; Kim, Junwon; Kim, Dong Eon; Nam, Chang Hee

2007-06-25

We demonstrate a long-term operation with reduced phase noise in the carrier-envelope-phase (CEP) stabilization process by employing a double feedback loop and an improved signal detection in the direct locking technique [Opt. Express 13, 2969 (2005)]. A homodyne balanced detection method is employed for efficiently suppressing the dc noise in the f-2f beat signal, which is converted into the CEP noise in the direct locking loop working at around zero carrier-envelope offset frequency (f(ceo)). In order to enhance the long-term stability, we have used the double feedback scheme that modulates both the oscillator pump power for a fast control and the intracavity-prism insertion depth for a slow and high-dynamic-range control. As a result, the in-loop phase jitter is reduced from 50 mrad of the previous result to 29 mrad, corresponding to 13 as in time scale, and the long-term stable operation is achieved for more than 12 hours.

Black phosphorus as a saturable absorber for generating mode-locked fiber laser in normal dispersion regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Latiff, A. A.; Rusdi, M. F. M.; Hisyam, M. B.; Ahmad, H.; Harun, S. W.

2016-11-01

This paper reports a few-layer black phosphorus (BP) as a saturable absorber (SA) or phase-locker in generating modelocked pulses from a double-clad ytterbium-doped fiber laser (YDFL). We mechanically exfoliated the BP flakes from BP crystal through a scotch tape, and repeatedly press until the flakes thin and spread homogenously. Then, a piece of BP tape was inserted in the cavity between two fiber connectors end facet. Under 810 mW to 1320 mW pump power, stable mode-locked operation at 1085 nm with a repetition rate of 13.4 MHz is successfully achieved in normal dispersion regime. Before mode-locked operation disappears above maximum pump, the output power and pulse energy is about 80 mW and 6 nJ, respectively. This mode-locked laser produces peak power of 0.74 kW. Our work may validates BP SA as a phase-locker related to two-dimensional nanomaterials and pulsed generation in normal dispersion regime.

Integrated modeling of high βN steady state scenario on DIII-D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, J. M.; Ferron, J. R.; Holcomb, C. T.; Buttery, R. J.; Solomon, W. M.; Batchelor, D. B.; Elwasif, W.; Green, D. L.; Kim, K.; Meneghini, O.; Murakami, M.; Snyder, P. B.

2018-01-01

Theory-based integrated modeling validated against DIII-D experiments predicts that fully non-inductive DIII-D operation with βN > 4.5 is possible with certain upgrades. IPS-FASTRAN is a new iterative numerical procedure that integrates models of core transport, edge pedestal, equilibrium, stability, heating, and current drive self-consistently to find steady-state (d/dt = 0) solutions and reproduces most features of DIII-D high βN discharges with a stationary current profile. Projecting forward to scenarios possible on DIII-D with future upgrades, the high qmin > 2 scenario achieves stable operation at βN as high as 5 by using a very broad current density profile to improve the ideal-wall stabilization of low-n instabilities along with confinement enhancement from low magnetic shear. This modeling guides the necessary upgrades of the heating and current drive system to realize reactor-relevant high βN steady-state scenarios on DIII-D by simultaneous optimization of the current and pressure profiles.

Influence of a high vacuum on the precise positioning using an ultrasonic linear motor.

PubMed

Kim, Wan-Soo; Lee, Dong-Jin; Lee, Sun-Kyu

2011-01-01

This paper presents an investigation of the ultrasonic linear motor stage for use in a high vacuum environment. The slider table is driven by the hybrid bolt-clamped Langevin-type ultrasonic linear motor, which is excited with its different modes of natural frequencies in both lateral and longitudinal directions. In general, the friction behavior in a vacuum environment becomes different from that in an environment of atmospheric pressure and this difference significantly affects the performance of the ultrasonic linear motor. In this paper, to consistently provide stable and high power of output in a high vacuum, frequency matching was conducted. Moreover, to achieve the fine control performance in the vacuum environment, a modified nominal characteristic trajectory following control method was adopted. Finally, the stage was operated under high vacuum condition, and the operating performances were investigated compared with that of a conventional PI compensator. As a result, robustness of positioning was accomplished in a high vacuum condition with nanometer-level accuracy.

Effects of organic loading rate on hydrogen and volatile fatty acid production and microbial community during acidogenic hydrogenesis in a continuous stirred tank reactor using molasses wastewater.

PubMed

Yun, J; Cho, K-S

2016-12-01

Microbial community associated with hydrogen production and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) accumulation was characterized in acidogenic hydrogenesis using molasses wastewater as a feedstock. Hydrogen and VFAs production were measured under an organic loading rate (OLR) from 19 to 35 g-COD l -1  day -1 . The active microbial community was analysed using RNA-based massively parallel sequencing technique, and their correlation patterns were analysed using networking analysis. The continuous stirred tank reactor achieved stable hydrogen production at different OLR conditions, and the maximum hydrogen production rate (HPR) was 1·02 L-H 2  l -1  day -1 at 31·0 g-COD l -1  day -1 . Butyrate (50%) and acetate (38%) positively increased with increase in OLR. Total VFA production stayed around 7135 mg l -1 during the operation period. Although Clostridiales and Lactobacillales were relatively abundant, the HPR was positively associated with Pseudomonadaceae and Micrococcineae. Total VFA and acetate, butyrate and propionate concentrations were positively correlated with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) such as Bacillales, Sporolactobacillus and Lactobacillus. The close relationship between Pseudomonadaceae and Micrococcineae, and LAB play important roles for stable hydrogen and VFA production from molasses wastewater. Microbial information on hydrogen and VFA production can be useful to design and operate for acidogenic hydrogenesis using high strength molasses wastewater. © 2016 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Radiative engineering with refractory epsilon-near-zero metamaterials (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dyachenko, Pavel N.; Molesky, Sean; Petrov, Alexander Y.; Störmer, Michael; Krekeler, Tobias; Lang, Slawa; Ritter, Martin; Jacob, Zubin; Eich, Manfred

2016-04-01

Improvement in high-temperature stable spectrally selective absorbers and emitters is integral for the further development of thermophotovoltaic (TPV), lighting and solar thermal applications. However, the high operational temperatures (T>1000oC) required for efficient energy conversion, along with application specific criteria such as the operational range of low bandgap semiconductors, greatly restrict what can be accomplished with natural materials. Motivated by this challenge, we demonstrate the first example of high temperature thermal radiation engineering with metamaterials. By employing the naturally selective thermal excitation of radiative modes that occurs near topological transitions, we show that thermally stable highly selective emissivity features are achieved for temperatures up to 1000°C with low angular dependence in a sub-micron thick refractory tungsten/hafnium dioxide epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) metamaterial. We also investigate the main mechanisms of thermal degradation of the fabricated refractory metamaterial both in terms of optical performance and structural stability using spectral analysis and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) techniques. Importantly, we observe chemical stability of the constituent materials for temperatures up to 1000°C and structural stability beyond 1100°C. The scalable fabrication, requiring magnetron sputtering, and thermally robust optical properties of this metamaterial approach are ideally suited to high temperature emitter applications such as lighting or TPV. Our findings provide a first concrete proof of radiative engineering with high temperature topological transition in ENZ metamaterials, and establish a clear path for implementation in TPV energy harvesting applications.

Stable partial nitritation for low-strength wastewater at low temperature in an aerobic granular reactor.

PubMed

Isanta, Eduardo; Reino, Clara; Carrera, Julián; Pérez, Julio

2015-09-01

Partial nitritation for a low-strength wastewater at low temperature was stably achieved in an aerobic granular reactor. A bench-scale granular sludge bioreactor was operated in continuous mode treating an influent of 70 mg N-NH4(+) L(-1) to mimic pretreated municipal nitrogenous wastewater and the temperature was progressively decreased from 30 to 12.5 °C. A suitable effluent nitrite to ammonium concentrations ratio to a subsequent anammox reactor was maintained stable during 300 days at 12.5 °C. The average applied nitrogen loading rate at 12.5 °C was 0.7 ± 0.3 g N L(-1) d(-1), with an effluent nitrate concentration of only 2.5 ± 0.7 mg N-NO3(-) L(-1). The biomass fraction of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) in the granular sludge decreased from 19% to only 1% in 6 months of reactor operation at 12.5 °C. Nitrobacter spp. where found as the dominant NOB population, whereas Nitrospira spp. were not detected. Simulations indicated that: (i) NOB would only be effectively repressed when their oxygen half-saturation coefficient was higher than that of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria; and (ii) a lower specific growth rate of NOB was maintained at any point in the biofilm (even at 12.5 °C) due to the bulk ammonium concentration imposed through the control strategy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dietary vitamin K guidance: an effective strategy for stable control of oral anticoagulation?

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Numerous factors have been identified as risk factors for instability of oral anticoagulation, including variability in vitamin K intake. However few studies have directly tested the feasibility of manipulating dietary vitamin K to achieve stable oral anticoagulation. Recent findings from a rando...

State and trait effects on individual differences in children's mathematical development.

PubMed

Bailey, Drew H; Watts, Tyler W; Littlefield, Andrew K; Geary, David C

2014-11-01

Substantial longitudinal relations between children's early mathematics achievement and their much later mathematics achievement are firmly established. These findings are seemingly at odds with studies showing that early educational interventions have diminishing effects on children's mathematics achievement across time. We hypothesized that individual differences in children's later mathematical knowledge are more an indicator of stable, underlying characteristics related to mathematics learning throughout development than of direct effects of early mathematical competency on later mathematical competency. We tested this hypothesis in two longitudinal data sets, by simultaneously modeling effects of latent traits (stable characteristics that influence learning across time) and states (e.g., prior knowledge) on children's mathematics achievement over time. Latent trait effects on children's mathematical development were substantially larger than state effects. Approximately 60% of the variance in trait mathematics achievement was accounted for by commonly used control variables, such as working memory, but residual trait effects remained larger than state effects. Implications for research and practice are discussed. © The Author(s) 2014.

State and Trait Effects on Individual Differences in Children's Mathematical Development

PubMed Central

Bailey, Drew H.; Watts, Tyler W.; Littlefield, Andrew K.; Geary, David C.

2015-01-01

Substantial longitudinal relations between children's early mathematics achievement and their much later mathematics achievement are firmly established. These findings are seemingly at odds with studies showing that early educational interventions have diminishing effects on children's mathematics achievement across time. We hypothesized that individual differences in children's later mathematical knowledge are more an indicator of stable, underlying characteristics related to mathematics learning throughout development than of direct effects of early mathematical competency on later mathematical competency. We tested this hypothesis in two longitudinal data sets, by simultaneously modeling effects of latent traits (stable characteristics that influence learning across time) and states (e.g., prior knowledge) on children's mathematics achievement over time. Latent trait effects on children's mathematical development were substantially larger than state effects. Approximately 60% of the variance in trait mathematics achievement was accounted for by commonly used control variables, such as working memory, but residual trait effects remained larger than state effects. Implications for research and practice are discussed. PMID:25231900

Overview of the 2006-2008 JOGMEC/NRCan/Aurora Mallik Gas Hydrate Production Test Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamoto, K.; Dallimore, S. R.

2008-12-01

During the winters of 2007 and 2008 the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), with Aurora Research Institute as the operator, carried out an on-shore gas hydrate production test program at the Mallik site, Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada. The prime objective of the program was to verify the feasibility of depressurization technique by drawing down the formation pressure across a 12m perforated gas hydrate bearing section. This project was the second full scale production test at this site following the 2002 Japex/JNOC/GSC et al Mallik research program in which seven participants organizatinos from five countries undertook a thermal test using hot water circulation Field work in 2007 was devoted to establishing a production test well, installing monitoring devices outside of casing, conducting base line geophysical studies and undertaking a short test to gain practical experience prior to longer term testing planned for 2008 . Hydrate-dissociated gas was produced to surface by depressurization achieved by lowering the fluid level with a dowhole pump. However, the operation was terminated 60 hours after the start of the pumping mainly due to sand production problems. In spite of the short period (12.5 hours of ellapsed pumping time), at least 830m3 of the gas was produced and accumulated in the borehole. Sand screens were installed across the perforated interval at the bottom hole for the 2008 program to overcome operational problems encountered in 2007 and achieve sustainable gas production. Stable bottom hole flowing pressures were successfully achieved during a 6 day test with continuous pump operation. Sustained gas production was achieved with rates between 2000- 4000m3/day and cummulative gas volume in the surface of approximately 13,000m3. Temperature and pressure data measured at the bottom hole and gas and water production rates gave positive evidence for the high efficiency of gas production through depressurization method. Pre and post produciton testing geophysical logging program, geochemical analyses and monitoring tools outside of the casing also derived the supporting data for the formation responses to the depressurization. Acknowledgements: METI, MH21, JOGMEC and NRCan, Government of NWT, 2002 partners, IPM, R&D team members.

Dynamically stable magnetic suspension/bearing system

DOEpatents

Post, R.F.

1996-02-27

A magnetic bearing system contains magnetic subsystems which act together to support a rotating element in a state of dynamic equilibrium. However, owing to the limitations imposed by Earnshaw`s Theorem, the magnetic bearing systems to be described do not possess a stable equilibrium at zero rotational speed. Therefore, mechanical stabilizers are provided, in each case, to hold the suspended system in equilibrium until its speed has exceeded a low critical speed where dynamic effects take over, permitting the achievement of a stable equilibrium for the rotating object. A state of stable equilibrium is achieved above a critical speed by use of a collection of passive elements using permanent magnets to provide their magnetomotive excitation. The magnetic forces exerted by these elements, when taken together, levitate the rotating object in equilibrium against external forces, such as the force of gravity or forces arising from accelerations. At the same time, this equilibrium is made stable against displacements of the rotating object from its equilibrium position by using combinations of elements that possess force derivatives of such magnitudes and signs that they can satisfy the conditions required for a rotating body to be stably supported by a magnetic bearing system over a finite range of those displacements. 32 figs.

Dynamically stable magnetic suspension/bearing system

DOEpatents

Post, Richard F.

1996-01-01

A magnetic bearing system contains magnetic subsystems which act together to support a rotating element in a state of dynamic equilibrium. However, owing to the limitations imposed by Earnshaw's Theorem, the magnetic bearing systems to be described do not possess a stable equilibrium at zero rotational speed. Therefore, mechanical stabilizers are provided, in each case, to hold the suspended system in equilibrium until its speed has exceeded a low critical speed where dynamic effects take over, permitting the achievement of a stable equilibrium for the rotating object. A state of stable equilibrium is achieved above a critical speed by use of a collection of passive elements using permanent magnets to provide their magnetomotive excitation. The magnetic forces exerted by these elements, when taken together, levitate the rotating object in equilibrium against external forces, such as the force of gravity or forces arising from accelerations. At the same time, this equilibrium is made stable against displacements of the rotating object from its equilibrium position by using combinations of elements that possess force derivatives of such magnitudes and signs that they can satisfy the conditions required for a rotating body to be stably supported by a magnetic bearing system over a finite range of those displacements.

[Achilles tendon rupture].

PubMed

Thermann, H; Hüfner, T; Tscherne, H

2000-03-01

The treatment of acute of Achilles tendon rupture experienced a dynamic development in the last ten years. Decisive for this development was the application of MRI and above all the ultrasonography in the diagnostics of the pathological changes and injuries of tendons. The question of rupture morphology as well as different courses of healing could be now evaluated objectively. These advances led consequently to new modalities in treatment concepts and rehabilitation protocols. The decisive input for improvements of the outcome results and particularly the shortening of the rehabilitation period came with introduction of the early functional treatment in contrast to immobilizing plaster treatment. In a prospective randomized study (1987-1989) at the Trauma Dept. of the Hannover Medical School could show no statistical differences comparing functional non-operative with functional operative therapy with a special therapy boot (Variostabil/Adidas). The crucial criteria for therapy selection results from the sonographically measured position of the tendon stumps in plantar flexion (20 degrees). With complete adaptation of the tendons' ends surgical treatment does not achieve better results than non-operative functional treatment in term of tendon healing and functional outcome. Regarding the current therapeutic standards each method has is advantages and disadvantages. Both, the operative and non-operative functional treatment enable a stable tendon healing with a low risk of re-rupture (1-2%). Meanwhile there is consensus for early functional after-treatment of the operated Achilles' tendons. There seems to be a trend towards non-operative functional treatment in cases of adequate sonographical findings, or to minimal invasive surgical techniques.

Continuous uniformly finite time exact disturbance observer based control for fixed-time stabilization of nonlinear systems with mismatched disturbances

PubMed Central

Liu, Chongxin; Liu, Hang

2017-01-01

This paper presents a continuous composite control scheme to achieve fixed-time stabilization for nonlinear systems with mismatched disturbances. The composite controller is constructed in two steps: First, uniformly finite time exact disturbance observers are proposed to estimate and compensate the disturbances. Then, based on adding a power integrator technique and fixed-time stability theory, continuous fixed-time stable state feedback controller and Lyapunov functions are constructed to achieve global fixed-time system stabilization. The proposed control method extends the existing fixed-time stable control results to high order nonlinear systems with mismatched disturbances and achieves global fixed-time system stabilization. Besides, the proposed control scheme improves the disturbance rejection performance and achieves performance recovery of nominal system. Simulation results are provided to show the effectiveness, the superiority and the applicability of the proposed control scheme. PMID:28406966

Long-pulse stability limits of the ITER baseline scenario

DOE PAGES

Jackson, G. L.; Luce, T. C.; Solomon, W. M.; ...

2015-01-14

DIII-D has made significant progress in developing the techniques required to operate ITER, and in understanding their impact on performance when integrated into operational scenarios at ITER relevant parameters. We demonstrated long duration plasmas, stable to m/n =2/1 tearing modes (TMs), with an ITER similar shape and I p/aB T, in DIII-D, that evolve to stationary conditions. The operating region most likely to reach stable conditions has normalized pressure, B N≈1.9–2.1 (compared to the ITER baseline design of 1.6 – 1.8), and a Greenwald normalized density fraction, f GW 0.42 – 0.70 (the ITER design is f GW ≈ 0.8).more » The evolution of the current profile, using internal inductance (l i) as an indicator, is found to produce a smaller fraction of stable pulses when l i is increased above ≈ 1.1 at the beginning of β N flattop. Stable discharges with co-neutral beam injection (NBI) are generally accompanied with a benign n=2 MHD mode. However if this mode exceeds ≈ 10 G, the onset of a m/n=2/1 tearing mode occurs with a loss of confinement. In addition, stable operation with low applied external torque, at or below the extrapolated value expected for ITER has also been demonstrated. With electron cyclotron (EC) injection, the operating region of stable discharges has been further extended at ITER equivalent levels of torque and to ELM free discharges at higher torque but with the addition of an n=3 magnetic perturbation from the DIII-D internal coil set. Lastly, the characterization of the ITER baseline scenario evolution for long pulse duration, extension to more ITER relevant values of torque and electron heating, and suppression of ELMs have significantly advanced the physics basis of this scenario, although significant effort remains in the simultaneous integration of all these requirements.« less

Documenting Reading Achievement and Growth for Students Taking Alternate Assessments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tindal, Gerald; Nese, Joseph F. T.; Farley, Dan; Saven, Jessica L.; Elliott, Stephen N.

2016-01-01

Students with disabilities have been included in state accountability systems for more than a decade; however, only in the past few years have alternate assessments of alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) become stable enough to allow examination of these students' achievement growth. Using data from Oregon's AA-AAS in Reading during the…

Plug&Play Brain-Computer Interfaces for effective Active and Assisted Living control.

PubMed

Mora, Niccolò; De Munari, Ilaria; Ciampolini, Paolo; Del R Millán, José

2017-08-01

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) rely on the interpretation of brain activity to provide people with disabilities with an alternative/augmentative interaction path. In light of this, BCI could be considered as enabling technology in many fields, including Active and Assisted Living (AAL) systems control. Interaction barriers could be removed indeed, enabling user with severe motor impairments to gain control over a wide range of AAL features. In this paper, a cost-effective BCI solution, targeted (but not limited) to AAL system control is presented. A custom hardware module is briefly reviewed, while signal processing techniques are covered in more depth. Steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP) are exploited in this work as operating BCI protocol. In contrast with most common SSVEP-BCI approaches, we propose the definition of a prediction confidence indicator, which is shown to improve overall classification accuracy. The confidence indicator is derived without any subject-specific approach and is stable across users: it can thus be defined once and then shared between different persons. This allows some kind of Plug&Play interaction. Furthermore, by modelling rest/idle periods with the confidence indicator, it is possible to detect active control periods and separate them from "background activity": this is capital for real-time, self-paced operation. Finally, the indicator also allows to dynamically choose the most appropriate observation window length, improving system's responsiveness and user's comfort. Good results are achieved under such operating conditions, achieving, for instance, a false positive rate of 0.16 min -1 , which outperform current literature findings.

LPV control for the full region operation of a wind turbine integrated with synchronous generator.

PubMed

Cao, Guoyan; Grigoriadis, Karolos M; Nyanteh, Yaw D

2015-01-01

Wind turbine conversion systems require feedback control to achieve reliable wind turbine operation and stable current supply. A robust linear parameter varying (LPV) controller is proposed to reduce the structural loads and improve the power extraction of a horizontal axis wind turbine operating in both the partial load and the full load regions. The LPV model is derived from the wind turbine state space models extracted by FAST (fatigue, aerodynamics, structural, and turbulence) code linearization at different operating points. In order to assure a smooth transition between the two regions, appropriate frequency-dependent varying scaling parametric weighting functions are designed in the LPV control structure. The solution of a set of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) leads to the LPV controller. A synchronous generator model is connected with the closed LPV control loop for examining the electrical subsystem performance obtained by an inner speed control loop. Simulation results of a 1.5 MW horizontal axis wind turbine model on the FAST platform illustrates the benefit of the LPV control and demonstrates the advantages of this proposed LPV controller, when compared with a traditional gain scheduling PI control and prior LPV control configurations. Enhanced structural load mitigation, improved power extraction, and good current performance were obtained from the proposed LPV control.

Fiber Grating Coupled Light Source Capable of Tunable, Single Frequency Operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krainak, Michael A. (Inventor); Duerksen, Gary L. (Inventor)

2001-01-01

Fiber Bragg grating coupled light sources can achieve tunable single-frequency (single axial and lateral spatial mode) operation by correcting for a quadratic phase variation in the lateral dimension using an aperture stop. The output of a quasi-monochromatic light source such as a Fabry Perot laser diode is astigmatic. As a consequence of the astigmatism, coupling geometries that accommodate the transverse numerical aperture of the laser are defocused in the lateral dimension, even for apsherical optics. The mismatch produces the quadratic phase variation in the feedback along the lateral axis at the facet of the laser that excites lateral modes of higher order than the TM(sub 00). Because the instability entails excitation of higher order lateral submodes, single frequency operation also is accomplished by using fiber Bragg gratings whose bandwidth is narrower than the submode spacing. This technique is particularly pertinent to the use of lensed fiber gratings in lieu of discrete coupling optics. Stable device operation requires overall phase match between the fed-back signal and the laser output. The fiber Bragg grating acts as a phase-preserving mirror when the Bragg condition is met precisely. The phase-match condition is maintained throughout the fiber tuning range by matching the Fabry-Perot axial mode wavelength to the passband center wavelength of the Bragg grating.

Distributed Electrical Energy Systems: Needs, Concepts, Approaches and Vision (in Chinese)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Yingchen; Zhang, Jun; Gao, Wenzhong

Intelligent distributed electrical energy systems (IDEES) are featured by vast system components, diversifled component types, and difficulties in operation and management, which results in that the traditional centralized power system management approach no longer flts the operation. Thus, it is believed that the blockchain technology is one of the important feasible technical paths for building future large-scale distributed electrical energy systems. An IDEES is inherently with both social and technical characteristics, as a result, a distributed electrical energy system needs to be divided into multiple layers, and at each layer, a blockchain is utilized to model and manage its logicmore » and physical functionalities. The blockchains at difierent layers coordinate with each other and achieve successful operation of the IDEES. Speciflcally, the multi-layer blockchains, named 'blockchain group', consist of distributed data access and service blockchain, intelligent property management blockchain, power system analysis blockchain, intelligent contract operation blockchain, and intelligent electricity trading blockchain. It is expected that the blockchain group can be self-organized into a complex, autonomous and distributed IDEES. In this complex system, frequent and in-depth interactions and computing will derive intelligence, and it is expected that such intelligence can bring stable, reliable and efficient electrical energy production, transmission and consumption.« less

LPV Control for the Full Region Operation of a Wind Turbine Integrated with Synchronous Generator

PubMed Central

Grigoriadis, Karolos M.; Nyanteh, Yaw D.

2015-01-01

Wind turbine conversion systems require feedback control to achieve reliable wind turbine operation and stable current supply. A robust linear parameter varying (LPV) controller is proposed to reduce the structural loads and improve the power extraction of a horizontal axis wind turbine operating in both the partial load and the full load regions. The LPV model is derived from the wind turbine state space models extracted by FAST (fatigue, aerodynamics, structural, and turbulence) code linearization at different operating points. In order to assure a smooth transition between the two regions, appropriate frequency-dependent varying scaling parametric weighting functions are designed in the LPV control structure. The solution of a set of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) leads to the LPV controller. A synchronous generator model is connected with the closed LPV control loop for examining the electrical subsystem performance obtained by an inner speed control loop. Simulation results of a 1.5 MW horizontal axis wind turbine model on the FAST platform illustrates the benefit of the LPV control and demonstrates the advantages of this proposed LPV controller, when compared with a traditional gain scheduling PI control and prior LPV control configurations. Enhanced structural load mitigation, improved power extraction, and good current performance were obtained from the proposed LPV control. PMID:25884036

Virus removal retention challenge tests performed at lab scale and pilot scale during operation of membrane units.

PubMed

Humbert, H; Machinal, C; Labaye, Ivan; Schrotter, J C

2011-01-01

The determination of the virus retention capabilities of UF units during operation is essential for the operators of drinking water treatment facilities in order to guarantee an efficient and stable removal of viruses through time. In previous studies, an effective method (MS2-phage challenge tests) was developed by the Water Research Center of Veolia Environnement for the measurement of the virus retention rates (Log Removal Rate, LRV) of commercially available hollow fiber membranes at lab scale. In the present work, the protocol for monitoring membrane performance was transferred from lab scale to pilot scale. Membrane performances were evaluated during pilot trial and compared to the results obtained at lab scale with fibers taken from the pilot plant modules. PFU culture method was compared to RT-PCR method for the calculation of LRV in both cases. Preliminary tests at lab scale showed that both methods can be used interchangeably. For tests conducted on virgin membrane, a good consistency was observed between lab and pilot scale results with the two analytical methods used. This work intends to show that a reliable determination of the membranes performances based on RT-PCR analytical method can be achieved during the operation of the UF units.

Effect of substrate availability on nitrous oxide production by deammonification processes under anoxic conditions

PubMed Central

Schneider, Yvonne; Beier, Maike; Rosenwinkel, Karl‐Heinz

2012-01-01

Summary Due to its high global warming potential, nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from wastewater treatment processes have recently received a high degree of attention. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of information regarding the microbiological processes leading to N2O production. In this study, two lab‐scale sequencing batch reactors were operated with deammonification biomass to investigate the role of denitrification and the influence of substrate availability regarding N2O formation during the anoxic phase of deammonification. Three different operational phases were established: within the first phase conversion by anammox was favoured and after a transition phase, denitrification activity was promoted. Low nitrous oxide production was observed during stable operation aiming for anammox conversion. Pulsed inflow of the wastewater containing ammonium (NH4+) and nitrite (NO2‐) led to increased N2O production rates. Within the period of denitrification as dominating nitrogen conversion process, the nitrous oxide concentration level was higher during continuous inflow conditions, but the reaction to pulsed inflow was less pronounced. The results indicated that denitrification was responsible for N2O formation from the deammonification biomass. Operational settings to achieve suppression of denitrification processes to a large extend were deducted from the results of the experiments. PMID:22296600

Increased calcium absorption from synthetic stable amorphous calcium carbonate: Double-blind randomized crossover clinical trial in post-menopausal women

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Calcium supplementation is a widely recognized strategy for achieving adequate calcium intake. We designed this blinded, randomized, crossover interventional trial to compare the bioavailability of a new stable synthetic amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) with that of crystalline calcium carbonate (C...

Conjugated polymer dots for ultra-stable full-color fluorescence patterning.

PubMed

Chang, Kaiwen; Liu, Zhihe; Chen, Haobin; Sheng, Lan; Zhang, Sean Xiao-An; Chiu, Daniel T; Yin, Shengyan; Wu, Changfeng; Qin, Weiping

2014-11-12

Stable full-color fluorescence patterning are achieved by multicolor polymer-dot inks. The fluorescent patterns show extraordinary stability upon various treatments, offering a superior combination of bright fluorescence, excellent photostability, chemical resistance, and eco-friendship. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Explaining the Substantial Inter-Domain and Over-Time Correlations in Student Achievement: The Importance of Stable Student Attributes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marks, Gary N.

2016-01-01

Multi-domain and longitudinal studies of student achievement routinely find moderate to strong correlations across achievement domains and even stronger within-domain correlations over time. The purpose of this study is to examine the sources of these patterns analysing student achievement in 5 domains across Years 3, 5 and 7. The analysis is of…

Chip Scale Ultra-Stable Clocks: Miniaturized Phonon Trap Timing Units for PNT of CubeSats

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rais-Zadeh, Mina; Altunc, Serhat; Hunter, Roger C.; Petro, Andrew

2016-01-01

The Chip Scale Ultra-Stable Clocks (CSUSC) project aims to provide a superior alternative to current solutions for low size, weight, and power timing devices. Currently available quartz-based clocks have problems adjusting to the high temperature and extreme acceleration found in space applications, especially when scaled down to match small spacecraft size, weight, and power requirements. The CSUSC project aims to utilize dual-mode resonators on an ovenized platform to achieve the exceptional temperature stability required for these systems. The dual-mode architecture utilizes a temperature sensitive and temperature stable mode simultaneously driven on the same device volume to eliminate ovenization error while maintaining extremely high performance. Using this technology it is possible to achieve parts-per-billion (ppb) levels of temperature stability with multiple orders of magnitude smaller size, weight, and power.

Casimir quantum levitation tuned by means of material properties and geometries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dou, Maofeng; Lou, Fei; Boström, Mathias; Brevik, Iver; Persson, Clas

2014-05-01

The Casimir force between two surfaces is attractive in most cases. Although stable suspension of nano-objects has been achieved, the sophisticated geometries make them difficult to be merged with well-established thin film processes. We find that by introducing thin film surface coating on porous substrates, a repulsive to attractive force transition is achieved when the separations are increased in planar geometries, resulting in a stable suspension of two surfaces near the force transition separation. Both the magnitude of the force and the transition distance can be flexibly tailored though modifying the properties of the considered materials, that is, thin film thickness, doping concentration, and porosity. This stable suspension can be used to design new nanodevices with ultralow friction. Moreover, it might be convenient to merge this thin film coating approach with micro- and nanofabrication processes in the future.

State-of-health monitoring of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles by on-board internal resistance estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Remmlinger, Jürgen; Buchholz, Michael; Meiler, Markus; Bernreuter, Peter; Dietmayer, Klaus

For reliable and safe operation of lithium-ion batteries in electric or hybrid vehicles, diagnosis of the cell degradation is necessary. This can be achieved by monitoring the increase of the internal resistance of the battery cells over the whole lifetime of the battery. In this paper, a method to identify the internal resistance in a hybrid vehicle is presented. Therefore, a special purpose model deduced from an equivalent circuit is developed. This model contains parameters depending on the degradation of the battery cell. To achieve the required robustness and stable results under these conditions, the method uses specific signal intervals occurring during normal operation of the battery in a hybrid vehicle. This identification signal has a defined timespan and occurs regularly. The identification is done on vehicle measurement data of terminal cell voltage and current collected with a usual vehicle sampling rate. Using the adapted internal resistance value in the model, a degradation index is calculated by compensating other influences, e.g. battery temperature. This task is the main challenge, as the impact of the temperature on the resistance, for example, is one order of magnitude higher than the influence of the degradation for the investigated lithium-ion cell. The developed estimation and monitoring method is validated with measurement data from single cells and shows good results and very low computational effort.

Inverted S-Shaped Compact Antenna for X-Band Applications

PubMed Central

Samsuzzaman, M.; Islam, M. T.

2014-01-01

A novel probe-fed compact inverted S-shaped multifrequency patch antenna is designed. By employing two rectangular slots that change the conventional rectangular patch into an inverted S-shaped patch, the antenna is able to operate in triple frequency in the X-band. The performance criteria of the proposed design have been experimentally verified by fabricating a printed prototype. The measured results show that the −10 dB impedance bandwidth of the proposed antenna at lower band is 5.02% (8.69–9.14 GHz), at middle band is 9.13% (10.47–11.48 GHz), and at upper band is 3.79% (11.53–11.98 GHz). Two elliptical slots are introduced in the ground plane to increase the peak gain. The antenna is excited by a simple probe feeding mechanism. The overall antenna dimension is  0.52λ × 0.60λ × 0.046λ at a lower resonance frequency of 9.08 GHz. The antenna configuration and parametric investigation are conducted with the help of the high frequency structural simulator, and a good agreement is achieved between the simulated and measured data. The stable gain, omnidirectional radiation pattern, and consistent radiation efficiency in the achieved operating band make the proposed antenna a suitable candidate for X-band applications. PMID:24895656

Proactive monitoring of a wind turbine array with lidar measurements, SCADA data and a data-driven RANS solver

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iungo, G.; Said, E. A.; Santhanagopalan, V.; Zhan, L.

2016-12-01

Power production of a wind farm and durability of wind turbines are strongly dependent on non-linear wake interactions occurring within a turbine array. Wake dynamics are highly affected by the specific site conditions, such as topography and local atmospheric conditions. Furthermore, contingencies through the life of a wind farm, such as turbine ageing and off-design operations, make prediction of wake interactions and power performance a great challenge in wind energy. In this work, operations of an onshore wind turbine array were monitored through lidar measurements, SCADA and met-tower data. The atmospheric wind field investing the wind farm was estimated by using synergistically the available data through five different methods, which are characterized by different confidence levels. By combining SCADA data and the lidar measurements, it was possible to estimate power losses connected with wake interactions. For this specific array, power losses were estimated to be 4% and 2% of the total power production for stable and convective atmospheric regimes, respectively. The entire dataset was then leveraged for the calibration of a data-driven RANS (DDRANS) solver for prediction of wind turbine wakes and power production. The DDRANS is based on a parabolic formulation of the Navier-Stokes equations with axisymmetry and boundary layer approximations, which allow achieving very low computational costs. Accuracy in prediction of wind turbine wakes and power production is achieved through an optimal tuning of the turbulence closure model. The latter is based on a mixing length model, which was developed based on previous wind turbine wake studies carried out through large eddy simulations and wind tunnel experiments. Several operative conditions of the wind farm under examination were reproduced through DDRANS for different stability regimes, wind directions and wind velocity. The results show that DDRANS is capable of achieving a good level of accuracy in prediction of power production and wake velocity field associated with the turbine array.

The 30 GHz solid state amplifier for low cost low data rate ground terminals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ngan, Y. C.; Quijije, M. A.

1984-01-01

This report details the development of a 20-W solid state amplifier operating near 30 GHz. The IMPATT amplifier not only met or exceeded all the program objectives, but also possesses the ability to operate in the pulse mode, which was not called for in the original contract requirements. The ability to operate in the pulse mode is essential for TDMA (Time Domain Multiple Access) operation. An output power of 20 W was achieved with a 1-dB instantaneous bandwidth of 260 MHz. The amplifier has also been tested in pulse mode with 50% duty for pulse lengths ranging from 200 ns to 2 micro s with 10 ns rise and fall times and no degradation in output power. This pulse mode operation was made possible by the development of a stable 12-diode power combiner/amplifier and a single-diode pulsed driver whose RF output power was switched on and off by having its bias current modulated via a fast-switching current pulse modulator. Essential to the overall amplifier development was the successful development of state-of-the-art silicon double-drift IMPATT diodes capable of reproducible 2.5 W CW output power with 12% dc-to-RF conversion efficiency. Output powers of as high as 2.75 W has been observed. Both the device and circuit design are amenable to low cost production.

Enhanced Nutrients Removal Using Reeds Straw as Carbon Source in a Laboratory Scale Constructed Wetland.

PubMed

Wang, Tong; Wang, Haiyan; Chang, Yang; Chu, Zhaosheng; Zhao, Yaqian; Liu, Ranbin

2018-05-27

The low carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio and high nitrate content characteristics of agricultural runoff restricted the nitrogen removal in constructed wetlands (CWs). To resolve such problems, the economically- and easily-obtained Phragmites Australis (reeds) litters were applied and packed in the surface layer of a surface flow CW as external carbon sources. The results demonstrated that the introduction of the reeds straw increased the C concentration as a result of their decomposition during the CW operation, which will help the denitrification in the ensuing operation of an entire 148 days. The total nitrogen (TN) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) () in the effluent reached the peak level of 63.2 mg/L and 83 mg/L at the fourth and the second day, respectively. Subsequently, the pollutants in the CW that were filled with straw decreased rapidly and achieved a stable removal after 13 days of operation. Moreover, the present study showed that the N removal efficiency increased with the increase of the hydraulic retention time (HRT). Under the HRT of four days, the CW presented 74.1 ± 6%, 87.4 ± 6% and 56.0 ± 6% removal for TN, NO₃⁻, and TP, respectively.

Near-infrared roll-off-free electroluminescence from highly stable diketopyrrolopyrrole light emitting diodes

PubMed Central

Sassi, Mauro; Buccheri, Nunzio; Rooney, Myles; Botta, Chiara; Bruni, Francesco; Giovanella, Umberto; Brovelli, Sergio; Beverina, Luca

2016-01-01

Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) operating in the near-infrared spectral region are gaining growing relevance for emerging photonic technologies, such as lab-on-chip platforms for medical diagnostics, flexible self-medicated pads for photodynamic therapy, night vision and plastic-based telecommunications. The achievement of efficient near-infrared electroluminescence from solution-processed OLEDs is, however, an open challenge due to the low photoluminescence efficiency of most narrow-energy-gap organic emitters. Diketopyrrolopyrrole-boron complexes are promising candidates to overcome this limitation as they feature extremely high photoluminescence quantum yield in the near-infrared region and high chemical stability. Here, by incorporating suitably functionalized diketopyrrolopyrrole derivatives emitting at ~760 nm in an active matrix of poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-alt-benzothiadiazole) and without using complex light out-coupling or encapsulation strategies, we obtain all-solution-processed NIR-OLEDs with external quantum efficiency as high as 0.5%. Importantly, our test-bed devices show no efficiency roll-off even for high current densities and high operational stability, retaining over 50% of the initial radiant emittance for over 50 hours of continuous operation at 10 mA/cm2, which emphasizes the great applicative potential of the proposed strategy. PMID:27677240

Compact erbium lasers in the IR photorefractive keratectomy (PRK)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Baining; Eichler, Hans J.; Sperlich, O.; Holschbach, A.; Kayser, M.

1996-09-01

Erbium lasers deliver laser radiation near 3 micrometers and are a promising alternative to excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy (UV-PRK). In addition to easier handling due to all solid state technology, especially when operated in the fundamental mode, IR-PRK eliminates the potential of mutagenic side effects associated with UV-PRK. However, a successful IR-PRK for the clinic treatment in the near future demands both technological development of erbium lasers in different operation modes and clinical investigation of interaction between 3 micrometers radiation and human corneas. The excellent cooperation between university, company and hospital makes this possible. Uncoated thin plates made from infrared materials were found to be effective etalon reflectors with high damage threshold as high as 1 GW/cm2 for erbium lasers. Four kinds of such reflectors were successfully tested in Q-switched Er:YAG-laser at 2.94 micrometers and Er:Cr:YSGG-laser at 2.80 micrometers. Very stable operation of our erbium lasers with high output energy both in free-running and Q-switched modes is realized. First infrared photorefractive keratectomy (IR-PRK) for myopic correction in human corneas by a free-running erbium laser based on our new construction concepts was achieved.

[A trace methane gas sensor using mid-infrared quantum cascaded laser at 7.5 microm].

PubMed

Chen, Chen; Dang, Jing-Min; Huang, Jian-Qiang; Yang, Yue; Wang, Yi-Ding

2012-11-01

Presented is a compact instrument developed for in situ high-stable and sensitive continuous measurement of trace gases in air, with results shown for ambient methane (CH4) concentration accurate, real-time and in-situ. This instrument takes advantage of recent technology in thermoelectrically cooling (TEC) pulsed Fabry-Perot (FP) quantum cascaded laser (QCL) driving in a pulse mode operating at 7.5 microm ambient temperature to cover a fundamental spectral absorption band near v4 of CH4. A high quality Liquid Nitrogen (LN) cooled Mercury Cadmium Telluride (HgCdTe) mid-infrared (MIR) detector is used along with a total reflection coated gold ellipsoid mirror offering 20 cm single pass optical absorption in an open-path cell to achieve stability of 5.2 x 10(-3) under experimental condition of 200 micromol x mol(-1) measured ambient CH4. The instrument integrated software via time discriminating electronics technology to control QCL provides continuous quantitative trace gas measurements without calibration. The results show that the instrument can be applied to field measurements of gases of environmental concern. Additional, operator could substitute a QCL operating at a different wavelength to measure other gases.

Complication assessment and prevention strategies using midfoot fusion bolt for medial column stabilization in Charcot's osteoarthropathy.

PubMed

Mehlhorn, Alexander T; Walther, Markus; Iblher, Niklas; Südkamp, Norbert P; Schmal, Hagen

2016-12-01

In Charcot's osteoarthropathy stabilization of the medial column of the foot was introduced in order to establish a stable foot and reduce the risk for amputation. This study was performed to analyze postoperative complications, define risk factors for those and develop strategies for prevention. Since bolt dislocation takes place frequently, it was aimed to predict an appropriate time point for bolt removal under the condition that osseous healing has occurred. Fourteen consecutive patients with neuroosteoarthropathy of the foot and arch collapse were treated with open reduction and stabilization using midfoot fusion bolt and lateral lag screws. Age, gender, presence of preoperative osteomyelitis or ulcer, number of complications and operative revisions, Hba1c value, consolidation of arthrodesis, presence of a load-bearing foot and period to bolt dislocation was assessed. The mean follow-up was 21.4±14.6 (mean±SDM) months, 64% of patients suffered from diabetes with a preoperative Hba1c of 8.5±2.4. The mean number of revisions per foot was 3.6±4.1. Bolt dislocation was seen in 57% of the patients following 11.3±8.5 months; in 75% of these patients bony healing occurred before dislocation. There was a significant association between preoperative increased Hba1c value, presence of preoperative ulcer and wound infection. Healing of arthrodesis was demonstrated in 57% and a permanent weight-bearing foot without recurrent ulcer was achieved in 79%. The early and late postoperative complications could be controlled in general. A fully load-bearing and stable foot was obtained, despite osseous consolidation was not detected in all of these cases. Once a stable foot has established early removal of fusion bolt should be considered. To decrease the risk of infection Hba1c should be adjusted and ulcers should be treated before the operation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The close relation between Lactococcus and Methanosaeta is a keystone for stable methane production from molasses wastewater in a UASB reactor.

PubMed

Kim, Tae Gwan; Yun, Jeonghee; Cho, Kyung-Suk

2015-10-01

The up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor is a promising method for the treatment of high-strength industrial wastewaters due to advantage of its high treatment capacity and settleable suspended biomass retention. Molasses wastewater as a sugar-rich waste is one of the most valuable raw material for bioenergy production due to its high organic strength and bioavailability. Interpretation for complex interactions of microbial community structures and operational parameters can help to establish stable biogas production. RNA-based approach for biogas production systems is recommended for analysis of functionally active community members which are significantly underestimated. In this study, methane production and active microbial community were characterized in an UASB reactor using molasses wastewater as feedstock. The UASB reactor achieved a stable process performance at an organic loading rate of 1.7~13.8-g chemical oxygen demand (COD,·L(-1) day(-1); 87-95 % COD removal efficiencies), and the maximum methane production rate was 4.01 L-CH4·at 13.8 g-COD L(-1) day(-1). Lactococcus and Methanosaeta were comprised up to 84 and 80 % of the active bacterial and archaeal communities, respectively. Network analysis of reactor performance and microbial community revealed that Lactococcus and Methanosaeta were network hub nodes and positively correlated each other. In addition, they were positively correlated with methane production and organic loading rate, and they shared the other microbial hub nodes as neighbors. The results indicate that the close association between Lactococcus and Methanosaeta is responsible for the stable production of methane in the UASB reactor using molasses wastewater.

Model based manipulator control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Petrosky, Lyman J.; Oppenheim, Irving J.

1989-01-01

The feasibility of using model based control (MBC) for robotic manipulators was investigated. A double inverted pendulum system was constructed as the experimental system for a general study of dynamically stable manipulation. The original interest in dynamically stable systems was driven by the objective of high vertical reach (balancing), and the planning of inertially favorable trajectories for force and payload demands. The model-based control approach is described and the results of experimental tests are summarized. Results directly demonstrate that MBC can provide stable control at all speeds of operation and support operations requiring dynamic stability such as balancing. The application of MBC to systems with flexible links is also discussed.

Stable Short-Term Frequency Support Using Adaptive Gains for a DFIG-Based Wind Power Plant

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Jinsik; Jang, Gilsoo; Muljadi, Eduard

For the fixed-gain inertial control of wind power plants (WPPs), a large gain setting provides a large contribution to supporting system frequency control, but it may cause over-deceleration for a wind turbine generator that has a small amount of kinetic energy (KE). Further, if the wind speed decreases during inertial control, even a small gain may cause over-deceleration. This paper proposes a stable inertial control scheme using adaptive gains for a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG)-based WPP. The scheme aims to improve the frequency nadir (FN) while ensuring stable operation of all DFIGs, particularly when the wind speed decreases duringmore » inertial control. In this scheme, adaptive gains are set to be proportional to the KE stored in DFIGs, which is spatially and temporally dependent. To improve the FN, upon detecting an event, large gains are set to be proportional to the KE of DFIGs; to ensure stable operation, the gains decrease with the declining KE. The simulation results demonstrate that the scheme improves the FN while ensuring stable operation of all DFIGs in various wind and system conditions. Further, it prevents over-deceleration even when the wind speed decreases during inertial control.« less

Community structure dynamics during startup in microbial fuel cells - The effect of phosphate concentrations.

PubMed

Yanuka-Golub, Keren; Reshef, Leah; Rishpon, Judith; Gophna, Uri

2016-07-01

For microbial fuel cells (MFCs) to become a cost-effective wastewater treatment technology, they must produce a stable electro-active microbial community quickly and operate under realistic wastewater nutrient conditions. The composition of the anodic-biofilm and planktonic-cells communities was followed temporally for MFCs operated under typical laboratory phosphate concentrations (134mgL(-1)P) versus wastewater phosphate concentrations (16mgL(-1)P). A stable peak voltage was attained two-fold faster in MFCs operating under lower phosphate concentration. All anodic-biofilms were composed of well-known exoelectrogenic bacterial families; however, MFCs showing faster startup and a stable voltage had a Desulfuromonadaceae-dominated-biofilm, while biofilms co-dominated by Desulfuromonadaceae and Geobacteraceae characterized slower or less stable MFCs. Interestingly,planktonic-cell concentrations of these bacteria followed a similar trend as the anodic-biofilm and could therefore serve as a biomarker for its formation. These results demonstrate that wastewater-phosphate concentrations do not compromise MFCs efficiency, and considerably speed up startup times. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Student Mobility and Demographics: Relationships to Aptitude and Achievement in a Three-Year Middle School.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bolinger, Kevin; Gilman, David

This study examined differences between stable (n=107) and mobile (n=39) students attending a three-year middle school in Terre Haute (Indiana). Demographic variables of gender, ethnicity, and family income were considered, in addition to mobility, to assess possible relationships with aptitude and achievement. Achievement was measured by the…

Transition metal dichalcogenide (WS2 and MoS2) saturable absorbers for Q-switched Er-doped fiber lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Lu; Lv, Ruidong; Liu, Sicong; Wang, Xi; Wang, Yonggang; Chen, Zhendong; Wang, Jiang

2018-05-01

This report demonstrates a stable Q-switched Er-doped fiber laser with MoS2 (WS2)-based saturable absorber (SA) in the net normal dispersion regime. The SA is obtained by mixing MoS2 (WS2) nanosheets with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) into polystyrene cells, and then evaporating them to form MoS2 (WS2)/PVA film. The modulation depth values for MoS2/PVA and WS2/PVA are measured to be 2.7% and 2.1% respectively. Employing the MoS2 (WS2)/PVA film in the Er-doped fiber laser cavity, stable Q-switching operation is achieved with central wavelength of 1560 nm. The shortest pulse durations of the two Q-switched fiber lasers are, respectively, 3.97 and 3.71 µs, and their maximum single pulse energies are measured to be 131.52 and 126.96 nJ. The experimental results clearly show that MoS2 (WS2) is a promising nonlinear material, and that improvements in Q-switching performance due to two SAs in the net normal dispersion regime might be helpful in the design of fiber lasers.

Design of high-throughput and low-power true random number generator utilizing perpendicularly magnetized voltage-controlled magnetic tunnel junction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Hochul; Ebrahimi, Farbod; Amiri, Pedram Khalili; Wang, Kang L.

2017-05-01

A true random number generator based on perpendicularly magnetized voltage-controlled magnetic tunnel junction devices (MRNG) is presented. Unlike MTJs used in memory applications where a stable bit is needed to store information, in this work, the MTJ is intentionally designed with small perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA). This allows one to take advantage of the thermally activated fluctuations of its free layer as a stochastic noise source. Furthermore, we take advantage of the voltage dependence of anisotropy to temporarily change the MTJ state into an unstable state when a voltage is applied. Since the MTJ has two energetically stable states, the final state is randomly chosen by thermal fluctuation. The voltage controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) effect is used to generate the metastable state of the MTJ by lowering its energy barrier. The proposed MRNG achieves a high throughput (32 Gbps) by implementing a 64 ×64 MTJ array into CMOS circuits and executing operations in a parallel manner. Furthermore, the circuit consumes very low energy to generate a random bit (31.5 fJ/bit) due to the high energy efficiency of the voltage-controlled MTJ switching.

Bioaugmentation for treatment of full-scale diethylene glycol monobutyl ether (DGBE) wastewater by Serratia sp. BDG-2.

PubMed

Chen, Maoxia; Fan, Rong; Zou, Wenhui; Zhou, Houzhen; Tan, Zhouliang; Li, Xudong

2016-05-15

A novel bacterial strain BDG-2 was isolated and used to augment the treatment of silicon plate manufacturing wastewater that primarily contains diethylene glycol monobutyl ether (DGBE). BDG-2 was identified as a Serratia sp. Under the optimal conditions of 30 °C, pH 9 and DGBE concentration of 2000 mg L(-1), the bioaugmented system achieved 96.92% COD removal after 39.9h. Laboratory-scale technological matching results indicated that, in a biofilm process with the addition of 100 mg L(-1) ammonia and 5 mg L(-1) total phosphorus (TP), 70.61% COD removal efficiency could be obtained in 46 h. Addition of polyaluminium chloride (PAC) to the reactors during the suspension process enhanced the settleability of the BDG-2 culture. Subsequently, successful start-up and stable operation of a full-scale bioaugmented treatment facilities were accomplished, and the volumetric organic load in the plug-flow aeration tank was 2.17 ± 0.81 kg m(-3) d(-1). The effluent COD of the facilities was stable and always below 100 mg L(-1). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biologically enhanced cathode design for improved capacity and cycle life for lithium-oxygen batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oh, Dahyun; Qi, Jifa; Lu, Yi-Chun; Zhang, Yong; Shao-Horn, Yang; Belcher, Angela M.

2013-11-01

Lithium-oxygen batteries have a great potential to enhance the gravimetric energy density of fully packaged batteries by two to three times that of lithium ion cells. Recent studies have focused on finding stable electrolytes to address poor cycling capability and improve practical limitations of current lithium-oxygen batteries. In this study, the catalyst electrode, where discharge products are deposited and decomposed, was investigated as it has a critical role in the operation of rechargeable lithium-oxygen batteries. Here we report the electrode design principle to improve specific capacity and cycling performance of lithium-oxygen batteries by utilizing high-efficiency nanocatalysts assembled by M13 virus with earth-abundant elements such as manganese oxides. By incorporating only 3-5 wt% of palladium nanoparticles in the electrode, this hybrid nanocatalyst achieves 13,350 mAh g-1c (7,340 mAh g-1c+catalyst) of specific capacity at 0.4 A g-1c and a stable cycle life up to 50 cycles (4,000 mAh g-1c, 400 mAh g-1c+catalyst) at 1 A g-1c.

Edge Effect of Strained Bilayer Nanofilms for Tunable Multistability and Actuation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Zi; Hu, Nan; Han, Xiaomin; Huang, Shicheng; Grover, Hannah; Yu, Xiaojiao; Zhang, Lina; Trase, Ian; Zhang, John X. J.; Zhang, Li; Dong, Lixin

Multistability, the capability of a structure to exhibit more than one stable shape, has received increasing attention due to its applications in robotics, and energy harvesters, etc. Programming multistability into nano-electromechanical systems allows for microscale manipulation, energy harvesting and robotic operation for biomedical applications. In a spontaneous scrolled Si/Cr bilayer, two stable shapes were achieved after detaching from the substrate. We employed both theoretical and computational models to study the multistable behavior of a Si/Cr micro-claw and illustrated the mechanical principles involved. Besides the biaxial strain that serves as the primary driving force, we found residual edge stresses to be inducing bistability. In both models, individual Si/Cr micro-claws consistently demonstrate either monostability or bistability as the magnitude of the edge effect is varied. Both macroscopic and microscopic experimental designs were studied, supported by analytical and finite element simulation results. The results from this study provide a means to guide the on-demand design of strained nanobelts and nanosheets with tunable multistability and actuating capability. Z.C. acknowledges the Society in Science-Branco Weiss fellowship. J.X.J.Z. acknowledges the NIH Directors Transformative Award(1R01 OD022910-01).

Alginate as immobilization matrix and stabilizing agent in a two-phase liquid system: application in lipase-catalysed reactions.

PubMed

Hertzberg, S; Kvittingen, L; Anthonsen, T; Skjåk-Braek, G

1992-01-01

Alginate was evaluated as an immobilization matrix for enzyme-catalyzed reactions in organic solvents. In contrast to most hydrogels, calcium alginate was found to be stable in a range of organic solvents and to retain the enzyme inside the gel matrix. In hydrophobic solvents, the alginate gel (greater than 95% water) thus provided a stable, two-phase liquid system. The lipase from Candida cylindracea, after immobilization in alginate beads, catalysed esterification and transesterification in n-hexane under both batch and continuous-flow conditions. The operational stability of the lipase was markedly enhanced by alginate entrapment. In the esterification of butanoic acid with n-butanol, better results were obtained in the typical hydrophilic calcium alginate beads than in less hydrophilic matrices. The effects of substrate concentration, matrix area, and polarity of the substrate alcohols and of the organic solvent on the esterification activity were examined. The transesterification of octyl 2-bromopropanoate with ethanol was less efficient than that of ethyl 2-bromopropanoate with octanol. By using the hydrophilic alginate gel as an immobilization matrix in combination with a mobile hydrophobic phase, a two-phase liquid system was achieved with definite advantages for a continuous, enzyme-catalysed process.

A variable conductance gas switch for intermediate temperature operation of liquid He/liquid N2 cryostats

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rayner, J. T.; Chuter, T. C.; Mclean, I. S.; Radostitz, J. V.; Nolt, I. G.

1988-01-01

A technique for establishing a stable intermediate temperature stage in liquid He/liquid N2 double vessel cryostats is described. The tertiary cold stage, which can be tuned to any temperature between 10 and 60 K, is ideal for cooling IR sensors for use in astronomy and physics applications. The device is called a variable-conductance gas switch. It is essentially a small chamber, located between the cold stage and liquid helium cold-face, whose thermal conductance may be controlled by varying the pressure of helium gas within the chamber. A key feature of this device is the large range of temperature control achieved with a very small (less than 10 mW) heat input from the cryogenic temperature control switch.

DFB laser array driver circuit controlled by adjustable signal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Weikang; Du, Yinchao; Guo, Yu; Li, Wei; Wang, Hao

2018-01-01

In order to achieve the intelligent controlling of DFB laser array, this paper presents the design of an intelligence and high precision numerical controlling electric circuit. The system takes MCU and FPGA as the main control chip, with compact, high-efficiency, no impact, switching protection characteristics. The output of the DFB laser array can be determined by an external adjustable signal. The system transforms the analog control model into a digital control model, which improves the performance of the driver. The system can monitor the temperature and current of DFB laser array in real time. The output precision of the current can reach ± 0.1mA, which ensures the stable and reliable operation of the DFB laser array. Such a driver can benefit the flexible usage of the DFB laser array.

Periodic-disturbance accommodating control of the space station for asymptotic momentum management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Warren, Wayne; Wie, Bong; Geller, David

1989-01-01

Periodic-disturbance accommodating control is investigated for asymptotic momentum management of control moment gyros used as primary actuating devices for the Space Station. The proposed controller utilizes the concepts of quaternion feedback control and periodic-disturbance accommodation to achieve oscillations about the constant torque equilibrium attitude, while minimizing the control effort required. Three-axis coupled equations of motion, written in terms of quaternions, are derived for roll/yaw controller design and stability analysis. The quaternion feedback controller designed using the linear-quadratic regulator synthesis technique is shown to be robust for a wide range of pitch angles. It is also shown that the proposed controller tunes the open-loop unstable vehicle to a stable oscillatory motion which minimizes the control effort needed for steady-state operations.

Junction Propagation in Organometal Halide Perovskite-Polymer Composite Thin Films.

PubMed

Shan, Xin; Li, Junqiang; Chen, Mingming; Geske, Thomas; Bade, Sri Ganesh R; Yu, Zhibin

2017-06-01

With the emergence of organometal halide perovskite semiconductors, it has been discovered that a p-i-n junction can be formed in situ due to the migration of ionic species in the perovskite when a bias is applied. In this work, we investigated the junction formation dynamics in methylammonium lead tribromide (MAPbBr 3 )/polymer composite thin films. It was concluded that the p- and n- doped regions propagated into the intrinsic region with an increasing bias, leading to a reduced intrinsic perovskite layer thickness and the formation of an effective light-emitting junction regardless of perovskite layer thicknesses (300 nm to 30 μm). The junction propagation also played a major role in deteriorating the LED operation lifetime. Stable perovskite LEDs can be achieved by restricting the junction propagation after its formation.

Performance of a CW double electric discharge for supersonic CO lasers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stanton, A. C.; Hanson, R. K.; Mitchner, M.

1980-01-01

The results of an experimental investigation of a CW double discharge in supersonic CO mixtures are reported. Stable discharges in CO/N2 and CO/Ar mixtures, with a maximum energy loading of 0.5 eV/CO molecule, were achieved in a small-scale continuous-flow supersonic channel. Detailed measurements of the discharge characteristics were performed, including electrostatic probe measurements of floating potential and electron number density and spectroscopic measurements of the CO vibrational population distributions. The results of these measurements indicate that the vibrational excitation efficiency of the discharge is approximately 60%, for moderate levels of main discharge current. These experiments, on a small scale, demonstrate that the double-discharge scheme provides adequate vibrational energy loading for efficient CO laser operation under CW supersonic flow conditions.

First results from simulations of supersymmetric lattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Catterall, Simon

2009-01-01

We conduct the first numerical simulations of lattice theories with exact supersymmetry arising from the orbifold constructions of \\cite{Cohen:2003xe,Cohen:2003qw,Kaplan:2005ta}. We consider the Script Q = 4 theory in D = 0,2 dimensions and the Script Q = 16 theory in D = 0,2,4 dimensions. We show that the U(N) theories do not possess vacua which are stable non-perturbatively, but that this problem can be circumvented after truncation to SU(N). We measure the distribution of scalar field eigenvalues, the spectrum of the fermion operator and the phase of the Pfaffian arising after integration over the fermions. We monitor supersymmetry breaking effects by measuring a simple Ward identity. Our results indicate that simulations of Script N = 4 super Yang-Mills may be achievable in the near future.

Electricity generation and brewery wastewater treatment from sequential anode-cathode microbial fuel cell.

PubMed

Wen, Qing; Wu, Ying; Zhao, Li-xin; Sun, Qian; Kong, Fan-ying

2010-02-01

A sequential anode-cathode double-chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC), in which the effluent of anode chamber was used as a continuous feed for an aerated cathode chamber, was constructed in this experiment to investigate the performance of brewery wastewater treatment in conjugation with electricity generation. Carbon fiber was used as anode and plain carbon felt with biofilm as cathode. When hydraulic retention time (HRT) was 14.7 h, a relatively high chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency of 91.7%-95.7% was achieved under long-term stable operation. The MFC displayed an open circuit voltage of 0.434 V and a maximum power density of 830 mW/m(3) at an external resistance of 300 Omega. To estimate the electrochemical performance of the MFC, electrochemical measurements were carried out and showed that polarization resistance of anode was the major limiting factor in the MFC. Since a high COD removal efficiency was achieved, we conclude that the sequential anode-cathode MFC constructed with bio-cathode in this experiment could provide a new approach for brewery wastewater treatment.

Stable TEM00-mode Nd:YAG solar laser operation by a twisted fused silica light-guide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouadjemine, R.; Liang, D.; Almeida, J.; Mehellou, S.; Vistas, C. R.; Kellou, A.; Guillot, E.

2017-12-01

To improve the output beam stability of a TEM00-mode solar-pumped laser, a twisted fused silica light-guide was used to achieve uniform pumping along a 3 mm diameter and 50 mm length Nd:YAG rod. The concentrated solar power at the focal spot of a primary parabolic mirror with 1.18 m2 effective collection area was efficiently coupled to the entrance aperture of a 2D-CPC/2V-shaped pump cavity, within which the thin laser rod was pumped. Optimum solar laser design parameters were found through ZEMAX© non-sequential ray-tracing and LASCAD© laser cavity analysis codes. 2.3 W continuous-wave TEM00-mode 1064 nm laser power was measured, corresponding to 1.96 W/m2 collection efficiency and 2.2 W laser beam brightness figure of merit. Excellent TEM00-mode laser beam profile at M2 ≤ 1.05 and very good output power stability of less than 1.6% were achieved. Heliostat orientation error dependent laser power variation was considerably less than previous solar laser pumping schemes.

Electricity generation and brewery wastewater treatment from sequential anode-cathode microbial fuel cell*

PubMed Central

Wen, Qing; Wu, Ying; Zhao, Li-xin; Sun, Qian; Kong, Fan-ying

2010-01-01

A sequential anode-cathode double-chamber microbial fuel cell (MFC), in which the effluent of anode chamber was used as a continuous feed for an aerated cathode chamber, was constructed in this experiment to investigate the performance of brewery wastewater treatment in conjugation with electricity generation. Carbon fiber was used as anode and plain carbon felt with biofilm as cathode. When hydraulic retention time (HRT) was 14.7 h, a relatively high chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency of 91.7%–95.7% was achieved under long-term stable operation. The MFC displayed an open circuit voltage of 0.434 V and a maximum power density of 830 mW/m3 at an external resistance of 300 Ω. To estimate the electrochemical performance of the MFC, electrochemical measurements were carried out and showed that polarization resistance of anode was the major limiting factor in the MFC. Since a high COD removal efficiency was achieved, we conclude that the sequential anode-cathode MFC constructed with bio-cathode in this experiment could provide a new approach for brewery wastewater treatment. PMID:20104642

High-power, highly stable KrF laser with a 4-kHz pulse repetition rate

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Borisov, V M; El'tsov, A V; Khristoforov, O B

2015-08-31

An electric-discharge KrF laser (248 nm) with an average output power of 300 W is developed and studied. A number of new design features are related to the use of a laser chamber based on an Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} ceramic tube. A high power and pulse repetition rate are achieved by using a volume discharge with lateral preionisation by the UV radiation of a creeping discharge in the form of a homogeneous plasma sheet on the surface of a plane sapphire plate. Various generators for pumping the laser are studied. The maximum laser efficiency is 3.1%, the maximum laser energymore » is 160 mJ pulse{sup -1}, and the pulse duration at half maximum is 7.5 ns. In the case of long-term operation at a pulse repetition rate of 4 kHz and an output power of 300 W, high stability of laser output energy (σ ≤ 0.7%) is achieved using an all-solid-state pump system. (lasers)« less

Monolithic amplifier with stable, high resistance feedback element and method for fabricating the same

DOEpatents

O'Connor, Paul

1998-08-11

A monolithic amplifier includes a stable, high resistance feedback circuit and a dynamic bias circuit. The dynamic bias circuit is formed with active elements matched to those in the amplifier and feedback circuit to compensate for variations in the operating and threshold voltages thereby maintaining a stable resistance in the feedback circuit.

Achieving Stable Radiation Pressure Acceleration of Heavy Ions via Successive Electron Replenishment from Ionization of a High-Z Material Coating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, X. F.; Qiao, B.; Zhang, H.; Kar, S.; Zhou, C. T.; Chang, H. X.; Borghesi, M.; He, X. T.

2017-05-01

A method to achieve stable radiation pressure acceleration (RPA) of heavy ions from laser-irradiated ultrathin foils is proposed, where a high-Z material coating in front is used. The coated high-Z material, acting as a moving electron repository, continuously replenishes the accelerating heavy ion foil with comoving electrons in the light-sail acceleration stage due to its successive ionization under laser fields with Gaussian temporal profile. As a result, the detrimental effects such as foil deformation and electron loss induced by the Rayleigh-Taylor-like and other instabilities in RPA are significantly offset and suppressed so that stable acceleration of heavy ions are maintained. Particle-in-cell simulations show that a monoenergetic Al13 + beam with peak energy 3.8 GeV and particle number 1 010 (charge >20 nC ) can be obtained at intensity 1 022 W /cm2 .

Multi-Dimensional Asymptotically Stable 4th Order Accurate Schemes for the Diffusion Equation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abarbanel, Saul; Ditkowski, Adi

1996-01-01

An algorithm is presented which solves the multi-dimensional diffusion equation on co mplex shapes to 4th-order accuracy and is asymptotically stable in time. This bounded-error result is achieved by constructing, on a rectangular grid, a differentiation matrix whose symmetric part is negative definite. The differentiation matrix accounts for the Dirichlet boundary condition by imposing penalty like terms. Numerical examples in 2-D show that the method is effective even where standard schemes, stable by traditional definitions fail.

Treatment-related toxicities in tumor-bearing cats treated with temozolomide alone or in combination with doxorubicin: a pilot assessment.

PubMed

Gagnon, Jerome; Dervisis, Nikolaos G; Kitchell, Barbara E

2012-08-01

A retrospective study assessing treatment-related toxicities in tumor-bearing cats treated with temozolomide (TMZ) alone or in combination with doxorubicin was conducted. TMZ was administered orally once a day for 5 days every 3 weeks at a dose of 20 mg/cat. Tumor response was evaluated with standard World Health Organization criteria and toxicity was monitored using veterinary co-operative oncology group-common terminology criteria for adverse events (VCOG--CTCAE) criteria. Ten tumor-bearing cats with various types of malignancies were treated with TMZ-based chemotherapy. Eight cats were evaluable for response. Two cats achieved a complete response, one achieved stable disease and five achieved a partial response. Four grade III and one grade IV hematological toxicities, and one grade IV gastrointestinal toxicity were observed. Four cats were euthanased as a result of apparent toxicity. One cat was euthanased as a result of severe and prolonged myelosuppression with fever. Three were euthanased for grade III pleural and pericardial effusions. Effusion was seen in cats treated with higher cumulative dose of TMZ (P = 0.0046). Planned additional case accrual was discontinued because of unacceptable levels of toxicity despite evidence of efficacy in some of the cats. Additional investigation is needed to elucidate this unexpected apparent cumulative toxicity.

Using sewage sludge pyrolytic gas to modify titanium alloy to obtain high-performance anodes in bio-electrochemical systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Yuan; Ying, Kang; Shen, Dongsheng; Huang, Lijie; Ying, Xianbin; Huang, Haoqian; Cheng, Kun; Chen, Jiazheng; Zhou, Yuyang; Chen, Ting; Feng, Huajun

2017-12-01

Titanium is under consideration as a potential stable bio-anode because of its high conductivity, suitable mechanical properties, and electrochemical inertness in the operating potential window of bio-electrochemical systems; however, its application is limited by its poor electron-transfer capacity with electroactive bacteria and weak ability to form biofilms on its hydrophobic surface. This study reports an effective and low-cost way to convert a hydrophobic titanium alloy surface into a hydrophilic surface that can be used as a bio-electrode with higher electron-transfer rates. Pyrolytic gas of sewage sludge is used to modify the titanium alloy. The current generation, anodic biofilm formation surface, and hydrophobicity are systematically investigated by comparing bare electrodes with three modified electrodes. Maximum current density (15.80 A/m2), achieved using a modified electrode, is 316-fold higher than that of the bare titanium alloy electrode (0.05 A/m2) and that achieved by titanium alloy electrodes modified by other methods (12.70 A/m2). The pyrolytic gas-modified titanium alloy electrode can be used as a high-performance and scalable bio-anode for bio-electrochemical systems because of its high electron-transfer rates, hydrophilic nature, and ability to achieve high current density.

The effect of excision of the posterior arch of C1 on C1/C2 fusion using transarticular screws.

PubMed

Chang, K C; Samartzis, D; Fuego, S M; Dhatt, S S; Wong, Y W; Cheung, W Y; Luk, K D K; Cheung, K M C

2013-07-01

Transarticular screw fixation with autograft is an established procedure for the surgical treatment of atlantoaxial instability. Removal of the posterior arch of C1 may affect the rate of fusion. This study assessed the rate of atlantoaxial fusion using transarticular screws with or without removal of the posterior arch of C1. We reviewed 30 consecutive patients who underwent atlantoaxial fusion with a minimum follow-up of two years. In 25 patients (group A) the posterior arch of C1 was not excised (group A) and in five it was (group B). Fusion was assessed on static and dynamic radiographs. In selected patients CT imaging was also used to assess fusion and the position of the screws. There were 15 men and 15 women with a mean age of 51.2 years (23 to 77) and a mean follow-up of 7.7 years (2 to 11.6). Stable union with a solid fusion or a stable fibrous union was achieved in 29 patients (97%). In Group A, 20 patients (80%) achieved a solid fusion, four (16%) a stable fibrous union and one (4%) a nonunion. In Group B, stable union was achieved in all patients, three having a solid fusion and two a stable fibrous union. There was no statistically significant difference between the status of fusion in the two groups. Complications were noted in 12 patients (40%); these were mainly related to the screws, and included malpositioning and breakage. The presence of an intact or removed posterior arch of C1 did not affect the rate of fusion in patients with atlantoaxial instability undergoing C1/C2 fusion using transarticular screws and autograft.

HbA1c monitoring interval in patients on treatment for stable type 2 diabetes. A ten-year retrospective, open cohort study.

PubMed

Ohde, Sachiko; Deshpande, Gautam A; Yokomichi, Hiroshi; Takahashi, Osamu; Fukui, Tsuguya; Yamagata, Zentaro

2018-01-01

[Aims] This study aims to suggest an informative interval for HbA1c in DM patients with stable glycemic control, based on test characteristics of the HbA1C assay using the signal-to-noise ratio method. [Methods] This was a retrospective, open cohort study. Data were collected between January 2005 to December 2014 at a tertiary-level community hospital in Japan. All adult patients aged under 75 years, with stable glycemic control on a first pharmaceutical regimen for Type II diabetes, and at least two HbA1c measurements after they achieved glycemic stability, were included in the analysis. We defined stable glycemic control as HbA1c <7.0% (52 mmol/mol) and requiring no change in the medication regimen after three consecutive measurements. We adapted a signal-to-noise method for distinguishing true change from measurement error by constructing a linear random effects model to calculate signal and noise for HbA1c. The screening interval for HbA1c was defined as informative when the signal-to-noise ratio exceeded 1. [Results] Among 1066 adults with diabetes, 639 patients (18.5%) were identified as achieving stable glycemic control (511 male (67.3%)), with a mean HbA1c (SD) of 6.4 (0.4)% (46 mmol/mol). Patients with stable glycemic control increase their HbA1c 0.27% (3 mmol/mol) every year while HbA1c has 0.32% (3.5 mmol/mol) noise, as testing characteristics. Signal exceeds noise after 1.2 years (95%CI: 0.9-1.6). [Conclusion] Once patients achieve stable glycemic control at their HbA1c goal, an informative interval for HbA1c monitoring is once every year. Current guidelines, which suggest testing every six months, may contribute to substantial over-testing. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Learning from adaptive neural dynamic surface control of strict-feedback systems.

PubMed

Wang, Min; Wang, Cong

2015-06-01

Learning plays an essential role in autonomous control systems. However, how to achieve learning in the nonstationary environment for nonlinear systems is a challenging problem. In this paper, we present learning method for a class of n th-order strict-feedback systems by adaptive dynamic surface control (DSC) technology, which achieves the human-like ability of learning by doing and doing with learned knowledge. To achieve the learning, this paper first proposes stable adaptive DSC with auxiliary first-order filters, which ensures the boundedness of all the signals in the closed-loop system and the convergence of tracking errors in a finite time. With the help of DSC, the derivative of the filter output variable is used as the neural network (NN) input instead of traditional intermediate variables. As a result, the proposed adaptive DSC method reduces greatly the dimension of NN inputs, especially for high-order systems. After the stable DSC design, we decompose the stable closed-loop system into a series of linear time-varying perturbed subsystems. Using a recursive design, the recurrent property of NN input variables is easily verified since the complexity is overcome using DSC. Subsequently, the partial persistent excitation condition of the radial basis function NN is satisfied. By combining a state transformation, accurate approximations of the closed-loop system dynamics are recursively achieved in a local region along recurrent orbits. Then, the learning control method using the learned knowledge is proposed to achieve the closed-loop stability and the improved control performance. Simulation studies are performed to demonstrate the proposed scheme can not only reuse the learned knowledge to achieve the better control performance with the faster tracking convergence rate and the smaller tracking error but also greatly alleviate the computational burden because of reducing the number and complexity of NN input variables.

Anammox enrichment from reject water on blank biofilm carriers and carriers containing nitrifying biomass: operation of two moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBR).

PubMed

Zekker, Ivar; Rikmann, Ergo; Tenno, Toomas; Lemmiksoo, Vallo; Menert, Anne; Loorits, Liis; Vabamäe, Priit; Tomingas, Martin; Tenno, Taavo

2012-07-01

The anammox bacteria were enriched from reject water of anaerobic digestion of municipal wastewater sludge onto moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) system carriers-the ones initially containing no biomass (MBBR1) as well as the ones containing nitrifying biomass (MBBR2). Duration of start-up periods of the both reactors was similar (about 100 days), but stable total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency occurred earlier in the system containing nitrifying biomass. Anammox TN removal efficiency of 70% was achieved by 180 days in both 20 l volume reactors at moderate temperature of 26.0°C. During the steady state phase of operation of MBBRs the average TN removal efficiencies and maximum TN removal rates in MBBR1 were 80% (1,000 g-N/m(3)/day, achieved by 308 days) and in MBBR2 85% (1,100 g-N/m(3)/day, achieved by 266 days). In both reactors mixed bacterial cultures were detected. Uncultured Planctomycetales bacterium clone P4, Candidatus Nitrospira defluvii and uncultured Nitrospira sp. clone 53 were identified by PCR-DGGE from the system initially containing blank biofilm carriers as well as from the nitrifying biofilm system; from the latter in addition to these also uncultured ammonium oxidizing bacterium clone W1 and Nitrospira sp. clone S1-62 were detected. FISH analysis revealed that anammox microorganisms were located in clusters in the biofilm. Using previously grown nitrifying biofilm matrix for anammox enrichment has some benefits over starting up the process from zero, such as less time for enrichment and protection against severe inhibitions in case of high substrate loading rates.

Optimized autonomous operations of a 20 K space hydrogen sorption cryocooler

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borders, J.; Morgante, G.; Prina, M.; Pearson, D.; Bhandari, P.

2004-06-01

A fully redundant hydrogen sorption cryocooler is being developed for the European Space Agency Planck mission, dedicated to the measurement of the temperature anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background radiation with unprecedented sensitivity and resolution [Advances in Cryogenic Engineering 45A (2000) 499]. In order to achieve this ambitious scientific task, this cooler is required to provide a stable temperature reference (˜20 K) and appropriate cooling (˜1 W) to the two instruments on-board, with a flight operational lifetime of 18 months. During mission operations, communication with the spacecraft will be possible in a restricted time-window, not longer than 2 h/day. This implies the need for an operations control structure with the required robustness to safely perform autonomous procedures. The cooler performance depends on many operating parameters (such as the temperatures of the pre-cooling stages and the warm radiator), therefore the operation control system needs the capability to adapt to variations of these boundary conditions, while maintaining safe operating procedures. An engineering bread board (EBB) cooler was assembled and tested to evaluate the behavior of the system under conditions simulating flight operations and the test data were used to refine and improve the operation control software. In order to minimize scientific data loss, the cooler is required to detect all possible failure modes and to autonomously react to them by taking the appropriate action in a rapid fashion. Various procedures and schemes both general and specific in nature were developed, tested and implemented to achieve these goals. In general, the robustness to malfunctions was increased by implementing an automatic classification of anomalies in different levels relative to the seriousness of the error. The response is therefore proportional to the failure level. Specifically, the start-up sequence duration was significantly reduced, allowing a much faster activation of the system, particularly useful in case of restarts after inadvertent shutdowns arising from malfunctions in the spacecraft. The capacity of the system to detect J-T plugs was increased to the point that the cooler is able to autonomously identify actual contaminants clogging from gas flow reductions due to off-nominal operating conditions. Once a plug is confirmed, the software autonomously energizes, and subsequently turns off, a J-T defrost heater until the clog is removed, bringing the system back to normal operating conditions. In this paper, all the cooler Operational Modes are presented, together with the description of the logic structure of the procedures and the advantages they produce for the operations.

Closed-Cycle, Frequency-Stable CO2 Laser Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Batten, Carmen E. (Editor); Miller, Irvin M. (Editor); Wood, George M., Jr. (Editor); Willetts, David V. (Editor)

1987-01-01

These proceedings contain a collection of papers and comments presented at a workshop on technology associated with long-duration closed-cycle operation of frequency-stable, pulsed carbon dioxide lasers. This workshop was held at the NASA Langley Research Center June 10 to 12, 1986. The workshop, jointly sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment (RSRE), was attended by 63 engineers and scientists from the United States and the United Kingdom. During the 2 1/2 days of the workshop, a number of issues relating to obtaining frequency-stable operation and to the catalytic control of laser gas chemistry were discussed, and specific recommendations concerning future activities were drafted.

Achieving Stable Radiation Pressure Acceleration of Heavy Ions via Successive Electron Replenishment from Ionization of a High-Z Material Coating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiao, Bin; Shen, X. F.; Zhang, H.; Kar, S.; Zhou, C. T.; Chang, H. X.; Borghesi, M.; He, X. T.

2017-10-01

Among various laser-driven acceleration schemes, radiation pressure acceleration (RPA) is regarded as one of the most promising schemes to obtain high-quality ion beams. Although RPA is very attractive in principle, it is difficult to be achieved experimentally. One of the most important reasons is the dramatic growth of the multi-dimensional Rayleigh-Taylor-like (RT) instabilities. In this talk, we report a novel method to achieve stable RPA of ions from laser-irradiated ultrathin foils, where a high-Z material coating in front is used. The coated high-Z material, acting as a moving electron repository, continuously replenishes the accelerating ion foil with comoving electrons in the light-sail acceleration stage due to its successive ionization under laser fields with Gaussian temporal profile. As a result, the detrimental effects such as electron loss induced by the RT and other instabilities are significantly offset and suppressed so that stable acceleration of ions are maintained. Supported by the NSAF, Grant No. U1630246; the NNSF China Grants No. 11575298; and the National Key Program of S&T Research and Development, Grant No. 2016YFA0401100.

Dynamics of Teacher-Student Relationships: Stability and Change across Elementary School and the Influence on Children’s Academic Success

PubMed Central

Spilt, Jantine L.; Hughes, Jan N.; Wu, Jiun-Yu; Kwok, Oi-Man

2012-01-01

This study modeled teacher-student relationship trajectories throughout elementary school to predict gains in achievement in an ethnic-diverse sample of 657 academically at-risk students. Teacher reports of Warmth and Conflict were collected in grades 1 to 5. Achievement was tested in grade 1 and 6. For Conflict, low-stable (normative), low-increasing, high-declining, and high-stable trajectories were found. For Warmth, high-declining (normative) and low-increasing patterns were found. Children with early behavioral, academic, or social risks were under-represented in the normative trajectory groups. Chronic conflict was most strongly associated with under achievement. Rising Conflict but not declining Conflict coincided with underachievement. The probability of school failure increased as a function of the timing and length of time children were exposed to relational adversity. PMID:22497209

A Theoretical Approach for Selecting Elementary School Environmental Variables.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sinclair, Robert L.

To determine specific environmental variables of the elementary school is the purpose of this study. Stable characteristics of intelligence and achievement were selected because they were considered useful for generating salient environmental counterparts likely to exist in elementary institutions. Achievement motivation, language development, and…

Suppression and nonlinear excitation of parasitic modes in second harmonic gyrotrons operating in a very high order mode

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nusinovich, Gregory S.; Pu, Ruifeng; Granatstein, Victor L.

2015-07-06

In recent years, there was an active development of high-power, sub-terahertz (sub-THz) gyrotrons for numerous applications. For example, a 0.67 THz gyrotron delivering more than 200 kW with about 20% efficiency was developed. This record high efficiency was achieved because the gyrotron operated in a high-order TE{sub 31,8}-mode with the power of ohmic losses less than 10% of the power of outgoing radiation. That gyrotron operated at the fundamental cyclotron resonance, and a high magnetic field of about 27 T was created by a pulse solenoid. For numerous applications, it is beneficial to use gyrotrons at cyclotron harmonics which can operate inmore » available cryomagnets with fields not exceeding 15 T. However, typically, the gyrotron operation at harmonics faces severe competition from parasitic modes at the fundamental resonance. In the present paper, we consider a similar 0.67 THz gyrotron designed for operation in the same TE{sub 31,8}-mode, but at the second harmonic. We focus on two nonlinear effects typical for interaction between the fundamental and second harmonic modes, viz., the mode suppression and the nonlinear excitation of the mode at the fundamental harmonic by the second harmonic oscillations. Our study includes both the analytical theory and numerical simulations performed with the self-consistent code MAGY. The simulations show that stable second harmonic operation in the TE{sub 31,8} mode is possible with only modest sacrifice of efficiency and power.« less

The String Stability of a Trajectory-Based Interval Management Algorithm in the Midterm Airspace

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swieringa, Kurt A.

2015-01-01

NASA's first Air Traffic Management (ATM) Technology Demonstration (ATD-1) was created to facilitate the transition of mature ATM technologies from the laboratory to operational use. The technologies selected for demonstration are the Traffic Management Advisor with Terminal Metering (TMA-TM), which provides precise time-based scheduling in the terminal airspace; Controller Managed Spacing (CMS), which provides terminal controllers with decision support tools enabling precise schedule conformance; and Interval Management (IM), which consists of flight deck automation that enables aircraft to achieve or maintain a precise spacing interval behind a target aircraft. As the percentage of IM equipped aircraft increases, controllers may provide IM clearances to sequences, or strings, of IM-equipped aircraft. It is important for these strings to maintain stable performance. This paper describes an analytic analysis of the string stability of the latest version of NASA's IM algorithm and a fast-time simulation designed to characterize the string performance of the IM algorithm. The analytic analysis showed that the spacing algorithm has stable poles, indicating that a spacing error perturbation will be reduced as a function of string position. The fast-time simulation investigated IM operations at two airports using constraints associated with the midterm airspace, including limited information of the target aircraft's intended speed profile and limited information of the wind forecast on the target aircraft's route. The results of the fast-time simulation demonstrated that the performance of the spacing algorithm is acceptable for strings of moderate length; however, there is some degradation in IM performance as a function of string position.

Granular Carbon-Based Electrodes as Cathodes in Methane-Producing Bioelectrochemical Systems

PubMed Central

Liu, Dandan; Roca-Puigros, Marta; Geppert, Florian; Caizán-Juanarena, Leire; Na Ayudthaya, Susakul P.; Buisman, Cees; ter Heijne, Annemiek

2018-01-01

Methane-producing bioelectrochemical systems generate methane by using microorganisms to reduce carbon dioxide at the cathode with external electricity supply. This technology provides an innovative approach for renewable electricity conversion and storage. Two key factors that need further attention are production of methane at high rate, and stable performance under intermittent electricity supply. To study these key factors, we have used two electrode materials: granular activated carbon (GAC) and graphite granules (GG). Under galvanostatic control, the biocathodes achieved methane production rates of around 65 L CH4/m2catproj/d at 35 A/m2catproj, which is 3.8 times higher than reported so far. We also operated all biocathodes with intermittent current supply (time-ON/time-OFF: 4–2′, 3–3′, 2–4′). Current-to-methane efficiencies of all biocathodes were stable around 60% at 10 A/m2catproj and slightly decreased with increasing OFF time at 35 A/m2catproj, but original performance of all biocathodes was recovered soon after intermittent operation. Interestingly, the GAC biocathodes had a lower overpotential than the GG biocathodes, with methane generation occurring at −0.52 V vs. Ag/AgCl for GAC and at −0.92 V for GG at a current density of 10 A/m2catproj. 16S rRNA gene analysis showed that Methanobacterium was the dominant methanogen and that the GAC biocathodes experienced a higher abundance of proteobacteria than the GG biocathodes. Both cathode materials show promise for the practical application of methane-producing BESs. PMID:29946543

Amplifier improvement circuit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sturman, J.

1968-01-01

Stable input stage was designed for the use with a integrated circuit operational amplifier to provide improved performance as an instrumentation-type amplifier. The circuit provides high input impedance, stable gain, good common mode rejection, very low drift, and low output impedance.

Monolithic amplifier with stable, high resistance feedback element and method for fabricating the same

DOEpatents

O`Connor, P.

1998-08-11

A monolithic amplifier includes a stable, high resistance feedback circuit and a dynamic bias circuit. The dynamic bias circuit is formed with active elements matched to those in the amplifier and feedback circuit to compensate for variations in the operating and threshold voltages thereby maintaining a stable resistance in the feedback circuit. 11 figs.

Application of manual control theory to the study of biological stress

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Replogle, C. R.; Holden, F. M.; Iay, C. N.

1972-01-01

A study was run using both a stable, third-order task and an adaptive first-order unstable task singly and in combination to test the effects of 2 min hypoxia (22000 ft) on human operator. The results indicate that the RMS error in the stable task does not change as a function of hypoxic stress whereas the error in an unstable task changes significantly. Models involving human operator parameter changes and noise injection are discussed.

Two-level schemes for the advection equation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vabishchevich, Petr N.

2018-06-01

The advection equation is the basis for mathematical models of continuum mechanics. In the approximate solution of nonstationary problems it is necessary to inherit main properties of the conservatism and monotonicity of the solution. In this paper, the advection equation is written in the symmetric form, where the advection operator is the half-sum of advection operators in conservative (divergent) and non-conservative (characteristic) forms. The advection operator is skew-symmetric. Standard finite element approximations in space are used. The standard explicit two-level scheme for the advection equation is absolutely unstable. New conditionally stable regularized schemes are constructed, on the basis of the general theory of stability (well-posedness) of operator-difference schemes, the stability conditions of the explicit Lax-Wendroff scheme are established. Unconditionally stable and conservative schemes are implicit schemes of the second (Crank-Nicolson scheme) and fourth order. The conditionally stable implicit Lax-Wendroff scheme is constructed. The accuracy of the investigated explicit and implicit two-level schemes for an approximate solution of the advection equation is illustrated by the numerical results of a model two-dimensional problem.

Recent advances of high voltage AlGaN/GaN power HFETs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uemoto, Yasuhiro; Ueda, Tetsuzo; Tanaka, Tsuyoshi; Ueda, Daisuke

2009-02-01

We review our recent advances of GaN-based high voltage power transistors. These are promising owing to low on-state resistance and high breakdown voltage taking advantages of superior material properties. However, there still remain a couple of technical issues to be solved for the GaN devices to replace the existing Si-based power devices. The most critical issue is to achieve normally-off operation which is strongly desired for the safety operation, however, it has been very difficult because of the built-in polarization electric field. Our new device called GIT (Gate Injection Transistor) utilizing conductivity modulation successfully achieves the normally-off operation keeping low on-state resistance. The fabricated GIT on a Si substrate exhibits threshold voltage of +1.0V. The obtained on-state resistance and off-state breakdown voltage were 2.6mΩ•cm2 and 800V, respectively. Remaining technical issue is to further increase the breakdown voltage. So far, the reported highest off-state breakdown voltage of AlGaN/GaN HFETs has been 1900V. Overcoming these issues by a novel device structure, we have demonstrated the world highest breakdown voltages of 10400V using thick poly-crystalline AlN as a passivation film and Via-holes through sapphire which enable very efficient layout of the lateral HFET array avoiding any undesired breakdown of passivation films. Since conventional wet or dry etching cannot be used for chemically stable sapphire, high power pulsed laser is used to form the via-holes. The presented GaN power devices demonstrate that GaN is advantageous for high voltage power switching applications replacing currently used Si-based power MOSFETs and IGBTs.

Probing the Hydrogen Enhanced Near-Field Emission of ITO without a Vacuum-Gap

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Poole, Jacob L.; Yu, Yang; Ohodnicki, Paul R.

In-situ monitoring of the multi-component gas streams in high temperature energy conversion devices offer the promises to higher efficiency via improved understanding of the chemical environments during device operation. While conventional resistive based metal oxide semiconductor gas sensors suffer from strong cross-sensitivity, optical sensing approaches offer intrinsic advantages to achieve gas selectivity based on wavelength specific interactions. This manuscript describes a novel method to achieve multicomponent gas sensing during gas exposure of H2, CO2, CH4and CO in humid high temperature environments. A single sensor element comprised of a perovskite La0.3Sr0.7TiO3(LSTO) oxide thin film layer coated on silica optical fiber wasmore » used. The sensing responses consisted of two wavelength-specific near infrared (NIR) mechanisms, namely broadband absorption associated with the metal oxide layer, and wavelength localized thermal emission responses associated with the hydroxyl defects within the silica fiber. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to couple the two mechanisms to achieve selective gas identification. Successful discrimination of H2and CO2on a single fiber sensor was achieved, where the results are both stable and reversible. This design demonstrates that by coupling multiple optical mechanisms on a single oxide coated fiber sensor, simple platforms can also achieve multi-component sensing functionality without the added complexity of a sensor array. Thus, it suggests a new approach to construct simple, robust and functional sensor designs capable of gas discrimination and quantification in multi-component gas streams.« less

Overcoming the limitations of silver nanowire electrodes for light emitting applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Dustin Yuan

The global lighting market is projected to exceed 100 billion dollars by 2020, undergoing rapid transitions driven by technological advancements. In conjunction with increased demand for new technology, global regulations have become increasingly stringent, mandating the development and implementation of more fuel-efficient light sources. As prior generations of lighting technology such as incandescent bulbs and florescent lighting progressively become phased out, newer technologies such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) have become progressively popular and commonplace. Though they still lag behind LEDs in terms of market penetration, OLEDs have garnered increasing amounts of attention in recent years due to unique attributes such as their exotic and large scale form factors, mechanical flexibility, and potential for high volume, low-cost manufacturing. Unfortunately, the costs for OLED manufacturing are currently still prohibitively high for several applications, with the anode and substrate representing 20-25 percent of this total cost. Significant technical and processing improvements for OLED substrates are of utmost necessity for fiscal cost reduction and commercialization of OLED technology. Silver nanowires have gained traction as a potential replacement for the current status quo, indium tin oxide (ITO) due to attributes such as flexibility, low cost processing, and high optoelectronic properties. However, due to nanoscale size effects, the integration of silver nanowires in both process flows and operational use has proven to be problematic. This work makes several key contributions towards enabling the use of silver nanowires for practical and commercial applications within the lighting industry. First, a novel method for the fabrication of a high temperature-stable, flexible substrate with surface roughness (Ra) < 2 nm is presented, based on atomic layer deposition of a conformal metal oxide film on silver nanowires. This development of a thermally stable AgNW based substrate is critical for the future of flexible OLEDs, as both polymers and AgNWs are unstable at elevated temperatures required for certain OLED processing. However, at the time publication, no solutions existed for flexible OLED substrates simultaneously having thermal stability in excess of 230 °C for more than a few minutes while maintaining a smooth surface for subsequent device fabrication. The thermally stable silver nanowires developed in this work are able to withstand temperatures of 500 °C in ramping tests, and when integrated with a thermally stable polymer matrix, withstand temperatures of 300 °C for at least 6 hours, representing an increase in allowable processing temperatures of 70 °C for several hours longer. Resulting polymer light emitting devices (PLEDs) requiring high temperature processing fabricated on this thermally stable exhibit comparable performance to the same devices fabricated on ITO, validating its compatibility for integration in traditional process flows, and validity for use in extreme processing conditions. Secondly, the aforementioned method is applied to understanding the electrical stability of silver nanowires. At the time of publication, previous works on the electrical failure of silver nanowires centered on the observation of failure under current flow, without a solution offered for how to mitigate the phenomenon. However, because the underlying purpose of these electrodes is to transport current, providing a solution for the failure flow is paramount to the success of AgNWs in future commercial applications. The importance of the development of this solution cannot be understated, especially in light of the fact that silver nanowires have been shown to fail under electrical stresses below typical operating conditions of various optoelectronic devices. The same technique mentioned previously can be leveraged for electrically stable silver nanowire networks, which show significant morphological stability over pristine silver nanowires when electrically stressed at normal operating conditions for OLEDs. These electrically stable substrates were able to produce high performance OLEDs with lifetimes 140% longer than the same devices fabricated on ITO, and 20% higher than non-electrically stable AgNW-based substrates. Thirdly, the thermally and electrically stable substrate was used to fabricate a high performing perovskite quantum dot light-emitting device exhibiting high flexibility. The use of quantum dots instead of perovskite precursors and post treatment to convert the precursors to perovskite allowed for several new innovations. Due to the elimination of highly polar solvents typically required with perovskite precursors, a broadened range of architectures can be achieved. Furthermore, due to the small dimensions of the quantum dots in contrast to thick films of perovskite formed from precursors, the active layer can extremely thin, allowing for high mechanical flexibility. The performance metrics achieved of 10.4 cd/A, 8.1 lm/W, and 2.6% EQE at a brightness of 1000 cd/m2 were enabled in part by the substrate, which further allowed for the high mechanical performance. The electroluminescence performance of the perovskite quantum dot LEDs was found to be virtually fully recoverable after being subjected to a bending radius of 2.5 mm, or repeated cycles of bending and unbending to a 4 mm radius, representing the first report of a highly flexible and mechanically perovskite quantum dot light emitting device with high electroluminescence performance. The improved stability of AgNWs with regards to both manufacturing and operational use, in addition to proof of concept in various light emitting devices demonstrates the potential of this technology for large-scale, commercial lighting applications.

Studies of uranium-sodium suspensions. Part I. Construction and operation of experimental loop

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bett, F L; Hilditch, R J; Mepham, R G

1961-08-01

An experimnental uranium- sodium suspension loop was operated for 4320 hr. The design, construction, commissioning, and operation of the loop to the point where a comnplete stable suspension was obtained is described.

A high-efficiency denitrification bioreactor for the treatment of acrylonitrile wastewater using waterborne polyurethane immobilized activated sludge.

PubMed

Dong, Honghong; Wang, Wei; Song, Zhaozheng; Dong, Hao; Wang, Jianfeng; Sun, Shanshan; Zhang, Zhongzhi; Ke, Ming; Zhang, Zhenjia; Wu, Wei-Min; Zhang, Guangqing; Ma, Jie

2017-09-01

The performance of a laboratory-scale, high-efficiency denitrification bioreactor (15L) using activated sludge immobilized by waterborne polyurethane in treating acrylonitrile wastewater with high concentration of nitrate nitrogen (249mg/L) was investigated. The bioreactor was operated at 30°C for 220days. Batch denitrification experiments showed that the optimal operation parameters were C/NO 3 - -N molar ratio of 2.0 using sodium acetate as electron donor and carrier filling rate of 20% (V/V) in the bioreactor. Stable performance of denitrification was observed with a hydraulic retention time of 30 to 38h. A volumetric removal rate up to 2.1kgN/m 3 ·d was achieved with a total nitrogen removal efficiency of 95%. Pyrosequencing results showed that Rhodocyclaceae and Pseudomonadaceae were the dominant bacterial families in the immobilized carrier and bioreactor effluent. The overall microbial diversity declined as denitrifiers gradually dominated and the relative abundance of other bacteria decreased along with testing time. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design and simulation of flight control system for man-portable micro reconnaissance quadcopter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Xinfan; Zhang, Daibing; Fang, Qiang; Shen, Lincheng

2017-10-01

The quadcopter has been widely used in the field of aerial photography and environmental detection, because of its advantages of VTOL, simple structure, and easy-control. In the field of urban anti-terrorism or special operations, micro reconnaissance quadcpter has its unique advantages such as all-weather taking off and landing, small noise and so on, and it is very popular with special forces and riot police. This paper aims at the flight control problem of the micro quadcopter, for the purposes of attitude stabilization control and trajectory tracking control of the micro quadcopter, first, the modeling of the micro quadcopter is presented. And using the MATLAB/SIMULINK toolbox to build the flight controller of the micro quadcopter, and then simulation analysis and real flight test are given. The results of the experiment show that the designed PID controller can correct the flight attitude shift effectively and track the planned tracks well, and can achieve the goal of stable and reliable flight of the quadcopter. It can be a useful reference for the flight control system design of future special operations micro UAV.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zelenyuk, Alla; Reitz, Paul; Stewart, Mark L.

Gasoline Compression Ignition (GCI) engines have the potential to achieve high fuel efficiency and to significantly reduce both NOx and particulate matter (PM) emissions by operating under dilute partially-premixed conditions. This low temperature combustion strategy is dependent upon direct-injection of gasoline during the compression stroke and potentially near top dead center (TDC). The timing and duration of the in-cylinder injections can be tailored based on speed and load to create optimized conditions that result in a stable combustion. We present the results of advanced aerosol analysis methods that have been used for detailed real-time characterization of PM emitted from amore » single-cylinder GCI engine operated at different speed, load, timing, and number and duration of near-TDC fuel injections. PM characterization included 28 measurements of size and composition of individual particles sampled directly from the exhaust and after mass and/or mobility classification. We use these data to calculate particle effective density, fractal dimension, dynamic shape factors in free-molecular and transition flow regimes, average diameter of primary spherules, number of spherules, and void fraction of soot agglomerates.« less

Stochastic stability assessment of a semi-free piston engine generator concept

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kigezi, T. N.; Gonzalez Anaya, J. A.; Dunne, J. F.

2016-09-01

Small engines, as power generators with low-noise and vibration characteristics, are needed in two niche application areas: as electric vehicle range extenders and as domestic micro Combined Heat and Power systems. A recent semi-free piston design known as the AMOCATIC generator fully meets this requirement. The engine potentially allows for high energy conversion efficiencies at resonance derived from having a mass and spring assembly. As with free-piston engines in general, stability and control of piston motion has been cited as the prime challenge limiting the technology's widespread application. Using physical principles, we derive in this paper two important results: an energy balance criterion and a related general stability criterion for a semi-free piston engine. Control is achieved by systematically designing a Proportional Integral (PI) controller using a control-oriented engine model for which a specific stability condition is stated. All results are presented in closed form throughout the paper. Simulation results under stochastic pressure conditions show that the proposed energy balance, stability criterion, and PI controller, operate as predicted to yield stable engine operation at fixed compression ratio.

Knee stabilisation following infected knee arthroplasty with bone loss and extensor mechanism impairment using a modular cemented nail.

PubMed

Rao, M C; Richards, O; Meyer, C; Jones, R Spencer

2009-12-01

Infected Total Knee Replacement with significant bone loss and loss of extensor mechanism poses a difficult management problem. Arthrodesis relying on bony union can be difficult to achieve and can result in significant limb shortening. We retrospectively looked at the outcome of seven patients with significant bone loss and extensor mechanism insufficiency following infected TKR who underwent knee stabilisation using a modular cemented nail. The nail relied on the strong coupling mechanism between the modular femoral and tibial components. Pain score improved from a mean of 7.9 pre-operatively to 1.5 post-operatively at a mean follow up of 39.6 months (range 7-68) months. Two patients underwent technically easy revision nailing for recurrent infection and aseptic loosening. The Endo-Model(R) Knee Fusion Nail (Newsplint, UK/Waldemar Link, GmbH & Co. KG, Hamburg, Germany) has good early results in terms of pain relief and provides a stable knee in cases with significant bone loss and extensor mechanism insufficiency following an infected TKR thus avoiding an above knee amputation.

Fast phase stabilization of a low frequency beat note for atom interferometry.

PubMed

Oh, E; Horne, R A; Sackett, C A

2016-06-01

Atom interferometry experiments rely on the ability to obtain a stable signal that corresponds to an atomic phase. For interferometers that use laser beams to manipulate the atoms, noise in the lasers can lead to errors in the atomic measurement. In particular, it is often necessary to actively stabilize the optical phase between two frequency components of the beams. Typically this is achieved using a time-domain measurement of a beat note between the two frequencies. This becomes challenging when the frequency difference is small and the phase measurement must be made quickly. The method presented here instead uses a spatial interference detection to rapidly measure the optical phase for arbitrary frequency differences. A feedback system operating at a bandwidth of about 10 MHz could then correct the phase in about 3 μs. This time is short enough that the phase correction could be applied at the start of a laser pulse without appreciably degrading the fidelity of the atom interferometer operation. The phase stabilization system was demonstrated in a simple atom interferometer measurement of the (87)Rb recoil frequency.

High voltage testing for the Majorana Demonstrator

DOE PAGES

Abgrall, N.; Arnquist, I. J.; Avignone, III, F. T.; ...

2016-04-04

The Majorana Collaboration is constructing the Majorana Demonstrator, an ultra-low background, 44-kg modular high-purity Ge (HPGe) detector array to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay in 76Ge. The phenomenon of surface micro-discharge induced by high-voltage has been studied in the context of the Majorana Demonstrator. This effect can damage the front-end electronics or mimic detector signals. To ensure the correct performance, every high-voltage cable and feedthrough must be capable of supplying HPGe detector operating voltages as high as 5 kV without exhibiting discharge. R&D measurements were carried out to understand the testing system and determine the optimum design configuration of themore » high-voltage path, including different improvements of the cable layout and feedthrough flange model selection. Every cable and feedthrough to be used at the Majorana Demonstrator was characterized and the micro-discharge effects during the Majorana Demonstrator commissioning phase were studied. Furthermore, a stable configuration has been achieved, and the cables and connectors can supply HPGe detector operating voltages without exhibiting discharge.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Oh, E.; Horne, R. A.; Sackett, C. A., E-mail: sackett@virginia.edu

Atom interferometry experiments rely on the ability to obtain a stable signal that corresponds to an atomic phase. For interferometers that use laser beams to manipulate the atoms, noise in the lasers can lead to errors in the atomic measurement. In particular, it is often necessary to actively stabilize the optical phase between two frequency components of the beams. Typically this is achieved using a time-domain measurement of a beat note between the two frequencies. This becomes challenging when the frequency difference is small and the phase measurement must be made quickly. The method presented here instead uses a spatialmore » interference detection to rapidly measure the optical phase for arbitrary frequency differences. A feedback system operating at a bandwidth of about 10 MHz could then correct the phase in about 3 μs. This time is short enough that the phase correction could be applied at the start of a laser pulse without appreciably degrading the fidelity of the atom interferometer operation. The phase stabilization system was demonstrated in a simple atom interferometer measurement of the {sup 87}Rb recoil frequency.« less

Progress and Plans for the HIT--SI Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sieck, P. E.; Gu, P.; Hamp, W. T.; Izzo, V. A.; Jarboe, T. R.; Nelson, B. A.; O'Neill, R. G.; Redd, A. J.; Rogers, J. A.; Smith, R. J.

2002-11-01

The next step in the Helicity Injected Torus (HIT) program is HIT--SI, a ``bow tie'' spheromak to be formed and sustained by Steady Inductive Helicity Injection (SIHI). SIHI injects helicity at a nearly constant rate with no open field lines intersecting the boundary.(T. R. Jarboe, Fusion Technology 36) (1), p. 85, 1999 HIT--SI has been designed with a bow tie geometry to achieve stable high-β (>10%) spheromak equilibria.(U. Shumlak and T. R. Jarboe, Phys. Plasmas 7) (7), p. 2959, 2000 Injector dynamics depend greatly on reconnection rates in two locations: deep in the injector, and at the edge of the spheromak equilibrium. The first stage of HIT--SI operation concentrates on formation of a spheromak and sustainment for 1 ms, where the injector dynamics can be studied and the formation parameter space can be explored. Once these goals are met, the experiment will move into the second stage of operation, where the discharge duration will be extended and the device will inherit a suite of diagnostics from the existing HIT--II device.

High voltage testing for the Majorana Demonstrator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abgrall, N.; Arnquist, Isaac J.; Avignone, F. T.

2016-07-01

The Majorana Collaboration is constructing theMajorana Demonstrator, an ultra-low background, 44-kg modular high-purity Ge (HPGe) detector array to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay in 76Ge. The phenomenon of surface micro-discharge induced by high-voltage has been studied in the context of theMajorana Demonstrator. This effect can damage the front-end electronics or mimic detector signals. To ensure the correct performance, every high-voltage cable and feedthrough must be capable of supplying HPGe detector operating voltages as high as 5 kV without exhibiting discharge. R&D measurements were carried out to understand the testing system and determine the optimum design configuration of the high-voltage path,more » including different improvements of the cable layout and feedthrough flange model selection. Every cable and feedthrough to be used at the Majorana Demonstrator was characterized and the micro-discharge effects during theMajorana Demonstrator commissioning phase were studied. A stable configuration has been achieved, and the cables and connectors can supply HPGe detector operating voltages without exhibiting discharge.« less

Widely-tunable, passively Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser with few-layer MoS2 saturable absorber.

PubMed

Huang, Yizhong; Luo, Zhengqian; Li, Yingyue; Zhong, Min; Xu, Bin; Che, Kaijun; Xu, Huiying; Cai, Zhiping; Peng, Jian; Weng, Jian

2014-10-20

We propose and demonstrate a MoS2-based passively Q-switched Er-doped fiber laser with a wide tuning range of 1519.6-1567.7 nm. The few-layer MoS2 nano-platelets are prepared by the liquid-phase exfoliation method, and are then made into polymer-composite film to construct the fiber-compatible MoS2 saturable absorber (SA). It is measured at 1560 nm wavelength, that such MoS2 SA has the modulation depth of ∼ 2% and the saturable optical intensity of ∼ 10 MW/cm(2). By further inserting the filmy MoS2-SA into an Er-doped fiber laser, stable Q-switching operation with a 48.1 nm continuous tuning from S- to C-waveband is successfully achieved. The shortest pulse duration and the maximum pulse energy are 3.3 μs and 160 nJ, respectively. The repetition rate and the pulse duration under different operation conditions have been also characterized. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first demonstration of MoS2 Q-switched, widely-tunable fiber laser.

Kinetic evaluation and process performance of a fixed film bioreactor removing phthalic acid and dimethyl phthalate.

PubMed

Pirsaheb, Meghdad; Mesdaghinia, Ali-Reza; Shahtaheri, Seyed Jamaleddin; Zinatizadeh, Ali Akbar

2009-08-15

Phthalate esters are toxic organic contaminants which can enter into the environment through various industrial processes. In this study, a 6-liter fixed film bioreactor was used to examine biodegradation of phthalic acid (PA) and dimethyl phthalate (DMP) in synthetic wastewater. Effect on the process of two operating factors, namely hydraulic retention time (HRT) (at four levels ranging between 6 and 48 h) and initial phthalate concentrations (at six levels ranging from 10mg to 500 mg/l), was investigated. The process was stable at all operating conditions, except for the condition with influent PA and DMP of 500 mg/l and HRT of 6h. More than 95% removal efficiency was achieved for the conditions with HRT longer than 10h. Remarkable amount of DMP (398 mg/kg of sludge) was adsorbed on the biomass due to its higher hydrophobicity compared to PA (171 mg/kg). The kinetic parameters (mu(m,)K(s), Y and K(d)) were determined and compared for both substrates, PA and DMP.

Modified Magnicon for High-Gradient Accelerator \\&

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yakovlev, V. P.; Hirshfield, J. L.; Jiang, Y.

2012-05-01

A self-consistent design is described of a modified 34.3 GHz magnicon amplifier with a TE311-mode output cavity, to replace the existing magnicon at Yale Beam Physics Lab Test Facility whose output cavity operates in the TM310 mode. The main g oal for the new design is to achieve robust reliable operation. This is expected since tube performance according to simulations is largely insensitive to the magnitude of external dc magnetic fields, including imperfections in magnetic field profile; small changes in gun voltage and current; changes in electron beam radial size; and even poorly matched external circuitry. The new tube, asmore » with its predecessor, is a third harmonic amplifier, with drive and deflection gain cavities near 11.424 GHz and output cavity at 34.272 GHz. The design calculations predict stable output of power of 20-27 MW at a 10 Hz repetition rate in pulses up to 1.3 microsec long, with a low probability of breakdown in the output cavity because of low electric fields (less tha n 650 kV/cm).« less

Solvent extraction: the coordination chemistry behind extractive metallurgy.

PubMed

Wilson, A Matthew; Bailey, Phillip J; Tasker, Peter A; Turkington, Jennifer R; Grant, Richard A; Love, Jason B

2014-01-07

The modes of action of the commercial solvent extractants used in extractive hydrometallurgy are classified according to whether the recovery process involves the transport of metal cations, M(n+), metalate anions, MXx(n-), or metal salts, MXx into a water-immiscible solvent. Well-established principles of coordination chemistry provide an explanation for the remarkable strengths and selectivities shown by most of these extractants. Reagents which achieve high selectivity when transporting metal cations or metal salts into a water-immiscible solvent usually operate in the inner coordination sphere of the metal and provide donor atom types or dispositions which favour the formation of particularly stable neutral complexes that have high solubility in the hydrocarbons commonly used in recovery processes. In the extraction of metalates, the structures of the neutral assemblies formed in the water-immiscible phase are usually not well defined and the cationic reagents can be assumed to operate in the outer coordination spheres. The formation of secondary bonds in the outer sphere using, for example, electrostatic or H-bonding interactions are favoured by the low polarity of the water-immiscible solvents.

Addressing Medicaid/marketplace churn through multimarket plans: assessing the current state of play.

PubMed

Rosenbaum, Sara

2015-02-01

Both before and after the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the US health insurance system is characterized by fragmentation. Pre-ACA, this fragmentation included major coverage gaps, causing significant periods of coverage interruption, especially for lower-income people. The ACA does not end the problem of churning among sources of public financing, but it does hold the potential for enabling people to move among sources of coverage rather than go without insurance. Several strategies for reducing coverage churn exist, but none is foolproof and all are in their early stages. Thus the ability of issuers to participate across multiple public financing arrangements and to offer stable provider networks becomes crucial to achieving continuity of care. Interviews with nine companies involved in developing or operating multimarket strategies confirm the feasibility of this approach while revealing major challenges, especially the challenge of finding providers willing to treat members regardless of the source of coverage. Strategies for increasing multimarket plans and networks represent one of the great areas of future policy and operational focus. Copyright © 2015 by Duke University Press.

A multi-stage traveling-wave thermoacoustically-driven refrigeration system operating at liquefied natural gas temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, K.; Sun, D. M.; Zhang, J.; Shen, Q.; Zhang, N.

2017-12-01

This study proposes a multi-stage travelling-wave thermoacoustically refrigeration system (TAD-RS) operating at liquefied natural gas temperature, which consists of two thermoacoustic engines (TAE) and one thermoacoustic refrigerator (TAR) in a closed-loop configuration. Three thermoacoustic units connect each other through a resonance tube of small cross-sectional area, achieving “self-matching” for efficient thermoacoustic conversion. Based on the linear thermoacoustic theory, a model of the proposed system has been built by using DeltaEC program to show the acoustic field characteristics and performance. It is shown that with pressurized 5 MPa helium as working gas, the TAEs are able to build a stable and strong acoustic field with a frequency of about 85 Hz. When hot end temperature reaches 923 K, this system can provide about 1410 W cooling power at 110 K with an overall exergy efficiency of 15.5%. This study indicates a great application prospect of TAD-RS in the field of natural gas liquefaction with a large cooling capacity and simple structure.

Performance Assessment of Model-Based Optimal Feedforward and Feedback Current Profile Control in NSTX-U using the TRANSP Code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ilhan, Z.; Wehner, W. P.; Schuster, E.; Boyer, M. D.; Gates, D. A.; Gerhardt, S.; Menard, J.

2015-11-01

Active control of the toroidal current density profile is crucial to achieve and maintain high-performance, MHD-stable plasma operation in NSTX-U. A first-principles-driven, control-oriented model describing the temporal evolution of the current profile has been proposed earlier by combining the magnetic diffusion equation with empirical correlations obtained at NSTX-U for the electron density, electron temperature, and non-inductive current drives. A feedforward + feedback control scheme for the requlation of the current profile is constructed by embedding the proposed nonlinear, physics-based model into the control design process. Firstly, nonlinear optimization techniques are used to design feedforward actuator trajectories that steer the plasma to a desired operating state with the objective of supporting the traditional trial-and-error experimental process of advanced scenario planning. Secondly, a feedback control algorithm to track a desired current profile evolution is developed with the goal of adding robustness to the overall control scheme. The effectiveness of the combined feedforward + feedback control algorithm for current profile regulation is tested in predictive simulations carried out in TRANSP. Supported by PPPL.

Osmotic versus conventional membrane bioreactors integrated with reverse osmosis for water reuse: Biological stability, membrane fouling, and contaminant removal.

PubMed

Luo, Wenhai; Phan, Hop V; Xie, Ming; Hai, Faisal I; Price, William E; Elimelech, Menachem; Nghiem, Long D

2017-02-01

This study systematically compares the performance of osmotic membrane bioreactor - reverse osmosis (OMBR-RO) and conventional membrane bioreactor - reverse osmosis (MBR-RO) for advanced wastewater treatment and water reuse. Both systems achieved effective removal of bulk organic matter and nutrients, and almost complete removal of all 31 trace organic contaminants investigated. They both could produce high quality water suitable for recycling applications. During OMBR-RO operation, salinity build-up in the bioreactor reduced the water flux and negatively impacted the system biological treatment by altering biomass characteristics and microbial community structure. In addition, the elevated salinity also increased soluble microbial products and extracellular polymeric substances in the mixed liquor, which induced fouling of the forward osmosis (FO) membrane. Nevertheless, microbial analysis indicated that salinity stress resulted in the development of halotolerant bacteria, consequently sustaining biodegradation in the OMBR system. By contrast, biological performance was relatively stable throughout conventional MBR-RO operation. Compared to conventional MBR-RO, the FO process effectively prevented foulants from permeating into the draw solution, thereby significantly reducing fouling of the downstream RO membrane in OMBR-RO operation. Accumulation of organic matter, including humic- and protein-like substances, as well as inorganic salts in the MBR effluent resulted in severe RO membrane fouling in conventional MBR-RO operation. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of substrate availability on nitrous oxide production by deammonification processes under anoxic conditions.

PubMed

Schneider, Yvonne; Beier, Maike; Rosenwinkel, Karl-Heinz

2012-05-01

Due to its high global warming potential, nitrous oxide (N(2)O) emissions from wastewater treatment processes have recently received a high degree of attention. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of information regarding the microbiological processes leading to N(2)O production. In this study, two lab-scale sequencing batch reactors were operated with deammonification biomass to investigate the role of denitrification and the influence of substrate availability regarding N(2)O formation during the anoxic phase of deammonification. Three different operational phases were established: within the first phase conversion by anammox was favoured and after a transition phase, denitrification activity was promoted. Low nitrous oxide production was observed during stable operation aiming for anammox conversion. Pulsed inflow of the wastewater containing ammonium (NH(4)(+)) and nitrite (NO(2)(-)) led to increased N(2)O production rates. Within the period of denitrification as dominating nitrogen conversion process, the nitrous oxide concentration level was higher during continuous inflow conditions, but the reaction to pulsed inflow was less pronounced. The results indicated that denitrification was responsible for N(2)O formation from the deammonification biomass. Operational settings to achieve suppression of denitrification processes to a large extend were deducted from the results of the experiments. © 2012 The Authors. Microbial Biotechnology © 2012 Society for Applied Microbiology and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Characteristics of multilevel storage and switching dynamics in resistive switching cell of Al2O3/HfO2/Al2O3 sandwich structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jian; Yang, Huafeng; Ma, Zhongyuan; Chen, Kunji; Zhang, Xinxin; Huang, Xinfan; Oda, Shunri

2018-01-01

We reported an Al2O3/HfO2/Al2O3 sandwich structure resistive switching device with significant improvement of multilevel cell (MLC) operation capability, which exhibited that four stable and distinct resistance states (one low resistance state and three high resistance states) can be achieved by controlling the Reset stop voltages (V Reset-stop) during the Reset operation. The improved MLC operation capability can be attributed to the R HRS/R LRS ratio enhancement resulting from increasing of the series resistance and decreasing of leakage current by inserting two Al2O3 layers. For the high-speed switching applications, we studied the initial switching dynamics by using the measurements of the pulse width and amplitude dependence of Set and Reset switching characteristics. The results showed that under the same pulse amplitude conditions, the initial Set progress is faster than the initial Reset progress, which can be explained by thermal-assisted electric field induced rupture model in the oxygen vacancies conductive filament. Thus, proper combination of varying pulse amplitude and width can help us to optimize the device operation parameters. Moreover, the device demonstrated ultrafast program/erase speed (10 ns) and good pulse switching endurance (105 cycles) characteristics, which are suitable for high-density and fast-speed nonvolatile memory applications.

BiPOD Arthroscopic Acromioclavicular Repair Restores Bidirectional Stability.

PubMed

De Beer, Joe; Schaer, Michael; Latendresse, Kim; Raniga, Sumit; Moor, Beat K; Zumstein, Matthias A

2017-01-01

Stabilizing the acromioclavicular joint in the vertical and horizontal planes is challenging, and most current techniques do not reliably achieve this goal. The BiPOD repair is an arthroscopically assisted procedure performed with image intensifier guidance that reconstructs the coracoclavicular ligaments as well as the acromioclavicular ligaments to achieve bidirectional stability. Repair is achieved with a combination of 2-mm FiberTape (Arthrex, Naples, Florida) and 20-mm Poly-Tape (Neoligaments, Leeds, England) to achieve rigid repair, prevent bone abrasion, and promote tissue ingrowth. This study is a prospective review of the first 6 patients treated for high-grade acute acromioclavicular injury with the BiPOD technique. The study included 6 men who were 21 to 36 years old (mean, 27 years). At 6-month follow-up, complications were recorded and radiographic analysis was used to determine the coracoclavicular distance for vertical reduction and the amount of acromioclavicular translation on the Alexander axillary view was used to determine horizontal reduction. One patient had a superficial infection over the tape knot. The difference in coracoclavicular distance between the operated side and the uninvolved side was 9±2 mm preoperatively and 0.3±2 mm at 6-month follow-up. On Alexander axillary view, all 6 patients showed stable reduction, which is defined as a clavicle that is in line with the acromion. The findings show that BiPOD acromioclavicular reconstruction restores bidirectional stability of the acromioclavicular joint at 6 months. [Orthopedics. 2017; 40(1):e35-e43.]. Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.

Design and operation of a continuous 13C and 15N labeling chamber for uniform or differential, metabolic and structural, plant tissue isotope labeling

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Tracing heavy stable isotopes from plant material through the ecosystem provides the most sensitive information about ecosystem processes; from CO2 fluxes and soil organic matter formation to small-scale stable-isotope biomarker probing. Coupling multiple stable isotopes such as 13C with 15N, 18O o...

Stable Artificial Dissipation Operators for Finite Volume Schemes on Unstructured Grids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Svard, Magnus; Gong, Jing; Nordstrom, Jan

2006-01-01

Our objective is to derive stable first-, second- and fourth-order artificial dissipation operators for node based finite volume schemes. Of particular interest are general unstructured grids where the strength of the finite volume method is fully utilized. A commonly used finite volume approximation of the Laplacian will be the basis in the construction of the artificial dissipation. Both a homogeneous dissipation acting in all directions with equal strength and a modification that allows different amount of dissipation in different directions are derived. Stability and accuracy of the new operators are proved and the theoretical results are supported by numerical computations.

Design and operation of a continuous integrated monoclonal antibody production process.

PubMed

Steinebach, Fabian; Ulmer, Nicole; Wolf, Moritz; Decker, Lara; Schneider, Veronika; Wälchli, Ruben; Karst, Daniel; Souquet, Jonathan; Morbidelli, Massimo

2017-09-01

The realization of an end-to-end integrated continuous lab-scale process for monoclonal antibody manufacturing is described. For this, a continuous cultivation with filter-based cell-retention, a continuous two column capture process, a virus inactivation step, a semi-continuous polishing step (twin-column MCSGP), and a batch-wise flow-through polishing step were integrated and operated together. In each unit, the implementation of internal recycle loops allows to improve the performance: (a) in the bioreactor, to simultaneously increase the cell density and volumetric productivity, (b) in the capture process, to achieve improved capacity utilization at high productivity and yield, and (c) in the MCSGP process, to overcome the purity-yield trade-off of classical batch-wise bind-elute polishing steps. Furthermore, the design principles, which allow the direct connection of these steps, some at steady state and some at cyclic steady state, as well as straight-through processing, are discussed. The setup was operated for the continuous production of a commercial monoclonal antibody, resulting in stable operation and uniform product quality over the 17 cycles of the end-to-end integration. The steady-state operation was fully characterized by analyzing at the outlet of each unit at steady state the product titer as well as the process (HCP, DNA, leached Protein A) and product (aggregates, fragments) related impurities. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:1303-1313, 2017. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

A Mechanical Coil Insertion System for Endovascular Coil Embolization of Intracranial Aneurysms

PubMed Central

Haraguchi, K.; Miyachi, S.; Matsubara, N.; Nagano, Y.; Yamada, H.; Marui, N.; Sano, A.; Fujimoto, H.; Izumi, T.; Yamanouchi, T.; Asai, T.; Wakabayashi, T.

2013-01-01

Summary Like other fields of medicine, robotics and mechanization might be introduced into endovascular coil embolization of intracranial aneurysms for effective treatment. We have already reported that coil insertion force could be smaller and more stable when the coil delivery wire is driven mechanically at a constant speed. Another background is the difficulty in synchronizing operators' minds and hands when two operators control the microcatheter and the coil respectively. We have therefore developed a mechanical coil insertion system enabling a single operator to insert coils at a fixed speed while controlling the microcatheter. Using our new system, the operator manipulated the microcatheter with both hands and drove the coil using foot switches simultaneously. A delivery wire force sensor previously reported was used concurrently, allowing the operator to detect excessive stress on the wire. In vitro coil embolization was performed using three methods: simple mechanical advance of the coil; simple mechanical advance of the coil with microcatheter control; and driving (forward and backward) of the coil using foot switches in addition to microcatheter control. The system worked without any problems, and did not interfere with any procedures. In experimental coil embolization, delivery wire control using the foot switches as well as microcatheter manipulation helped to achieve successful insertion of coils. This system could offer the possibility of developing safer and more efficient coil embolization. Although we aim at total mechanization and automation of procedures in the future, microcatheter manipulation and synchronized delivery wire control are still indispensable using this system. PMID:23693038

Controlled crack growth specimen for brittle systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Calomino, Anthony M.; Brewer, David N.

1990-01-01

A pure Mode 1 fracture specimen and test procedure has been developed which provides extended, stable, through-thickness crack growth in ceramics and other brittle, nonmetallic materials. Fixed displacement loading, applied at the crack mouth, promotes stable crack extension by reducing the stored elastic strain energy. Extremely fine control of applied displacements is achieved by utilizing the Poisson's expansion of a compressively loaded cylindrical pin. Stable cracks were successfully grown in soda-lime glass and monolithic Al2O3 for lengths in excess of 20 mm without uncontrollable catastrophic failure.

Controlled crack growth specimen for brittle systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Calomino, Anthony M.; Brewer, David N.

1992-01-01

A pure Mode 1 fracture specimen and test procedure has been developed which provides extended, stable, through-thickness crack growth in ceramics and other brittle, nonmetallic materials. Fixed displacement loading, applied at the crack mouth, promotes stable crack extension by reducing the stored elastic strain energy. Extremely fine control of applied displacements is achieved by utilizing the Poisson's expansion of a compressively loaded cylindrical pin. Stable cracks were successfully grown in soda-lime glass and monolithic Al2O3 for lengths in excess of 2O mm without uncontrollable catastrophic failure.

Stability of Electrodeposition at Solid-Solid Interfaces and Implications for Metal Anodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmad, Zeeshan; Viswanathan, Venkatasubramanian

2017-08-01

We generalize the conditions for stable electrodeposition at isotropic solid-solid interfaces using a kinetic model which incorporates the effects of stresses and surface tension at the interface. We develop a stability diagram that shows two regimes of stability: a previously known pressure-driven mechanism and a new density-driven stability mechanism that is governed by the relative density of metal in the two phases. We show that inorganic solids and solid polymers generally do not lead to stable electrodeposition, and provide design guidelines for achieving stable electrodeposition.

Circadian Activity Rhythms, Time Urgency, and Achievement Concerns.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watts, Barbara L.

Many physiological and psychological processes fluctuate throughout the day in fairly stable, rhythmic patterns. The relationship between individual differences in circadian activity rhythms and a sense of time urgency were explored as well as a number of achievement-related variables. Undergraduates (N=308), whose circadian activity rhythms were…

Rural Transient Children and School Achievement: An Australian Perspective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birch, Ian; Lally, Mike

1994-01-01

Among 336 students aged 4-8 in 4 rural Australian schools, transient students scored marginally lower on ability tests than their residentially stable peers. However, teachers gave more weight to family background and support, as opposed to disruption of schooling, as influencing children's adjustment to change and school achievement. (LP)

Spectral shaping of an all-fiber torsional acousto-optic tunable filter.

PubMed

Ko, Jeakwon; Lee, Kwang Jo; Kim, Byoung Yoon

2014-12-20

Spectral shaping of an all-fiber torsional acousto-optic (AO) tunable filter is studied. The technique is based on the axial modulation of AO coupling strength along a highly birefringent optical fiber, which is achieved by tailoring the outer diameter of the fiber along its propagation axis. Two kinds of filter spectral shaping schemes-Gaussian apodization and matched filtering with triple resonance peaks-are proposed and numerically investigated under realistic experimental conditions: at the 50-cm-long AO interaction length of the fiber and at half of the original fiber diameter as the minimum thickness of the tailored fiber section. The results show that the highest peak of sidelobe spectra in filter transmission is suppressed from 11.64% to 0.54% via Gaussian modulation of the AO coupling coefficient (κ). Matched filtering with triple resonance peaks operating with a single radio frequency signal is also achieved by cosine modulation of κ, of which the modulation period determines the spectral distance between two satellite peaks located in both wings of the main resonance peak. The splitting of two satellite peaks in the filter spectra reaches 48.2 nm while the modulation period varies from 7.7 to 50 cm. The overall peak power of two satellite resonances is calculated to be 22% of the main resonance power. The results confirm the validity and practicality of our approach, and we predict robust and stable operation of the designed all-fiber torsional AO filters.

Development of Remote Sampling ESI Mass Spectrometry for the Rapid and Automatic Analysis of Multiple Samples

PubMed Central

Yamada, Yuki; Ninomiya, Satoshi; Hiraoka, Kenzo; Chen, Lee Chuin

2016-01-01

We report on combining a self-aspirated sampling probe and an ESI source using a single metal capillary which is electrically grounded and safe for use by the operator. To generate an electrospray, a negative H.V. is applied to the counter electrode of the ESI emitter to operate in positive ion mode. The sampling/ESI capillary is enclosed within another concentric capillary similar to the arrangement for a standard pneumatically assisted ESI source. The suction of the liquid sample is due to the Venturi effect created by the high-velocity gas flow near the ESI tip. In addition to serving as the mechanism for suction, the high-velocity gas flow also assists in the nebulization of charged droplets, thus producing a stable ion signal. Even though the potential of the ion source counter electrode is more negative than the mass spectrometer in the positive ion mode, the electric field effect is not significant if the ion source and the mass spectrometer are separated by a sufficient distance. Ion transmission is achieved by the viscous flow of the carrier gas. Using the present arrangement, the user can hold the ion source in a bare hand and the ion signal appears almost immediately when the sampling capillary is brought into contact with the liquid sample. The automated analysis of multiple samples can also be achieved by using motorized sample stage and an automated ion source holder. PMID:28616373

Performance of temperature-phased anaerobic digestion (TPAD) system treating dairy cattle wastes.

PubMed

Sung, Shihwu; Santha, Harikishan

2003-04-01

The performance of temperature-phased anaerobic digestion (TPAD) system in the stabilization of dairy cattle wastes at high solids concentrations has never been evaluated, though the process has been established as a feasible alternative to conventional mesophilic processes for the treatment of municipal wastewater sludges. In this study, the TPAD system operating at a retention time of 14 days was subjected to varying total solids (TS) concentrations (3.46-14.54%) of dairy cattle wastes. At TS concentrations lower than 12.20%, corresponding to system volatile solids (VS) loadings in the range of 1.87-5.82 g VS/L/day, the system achieved an average VS removal of 40.2%. The maximum VS destruction of 42.6% was achieved at a TS concentration of 10.35%. Methane recovery from the wastes was consistently within 0.21-0.22 L/g VS fed. There was a drop in the system performance with respect to VS removal and methane recovery at TS concentrations higher than 10.35%. volatile fatty acid/alkalinity ratios less than 0.35 in the thermophilic reactor and 0.10 in the mesophilic reactor were found favorable for stable operation of the system. For the entire range of TS concentrations, the indicator organism counts in the biosolids were within the limits specified by USEPA in 40 CFR Part 503 regulations for Class A designation. After digestion, nearly 80-85% of total phosphorus was associated with the biosolids. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Development of Remote Sampling ESI Mass Spectrometry for the Rapid and Automatic Analysis of Multiple Samples.

PubMed

Yamada, Yuki; Ninomiya, Satoshi; Hiraoka, Kenzo; Chen, Lee Chuin

2016-01-01

We report on combining a self-aspirated sampling probe and an ESI source using a single metal capillary which is electrically grounded and safe for use by the operator. To generate an electrospray, a negative H.V. is applied to the counter electrode of the ESI emitter to operate in positive ion mode. The sampling/ESI capillary is enclosed within another concentric capillary similar to the arrangement for a standard pneumatically assisted ESI source. The suction of the liquid sample is due to the Venturi effect created by the high-velocity gas flow near the ESI tip. In addition to serving as the mechanism for suction, the high-velocity gas flow also assists in the nebulization of charged droplets, thus producing a stable ion signal. Even though the potential of the ion source counter electrode is more negative than the mass spectrometer in the positive ion mode, the electric field effect is not significant if the ion source and the mass spectrometer are separated by a sufficient distance. Ion transmission is achieved by the viscous flow of the carrier gas. Using the present arrangement, the user can hold the ion source in a bare hand and the ion signal appears almost immediately when the sampling capillary is brought into contact with the liquid sample. The automated analysis of multiple samples can also be achieved by using motorized sample stage and an automated ion source holder.

Development of interface-dominant bulk Cu/V nanolamellar composites by cross accumulative roll bonding

PubMed Central

Zeng, L. F.; Gao, R.; Xie, Z. M.; Miao, S.; Fang, Q. F.; Wang, X. P.; Zhang, T.; Liu, C. S.

2017-01-01

Traditional nanostructured metals are inherently comprised of a high density of high-energy interfaces that make this class of materials not stable in extreme conditions. Therefore, high performance bulk nanostructured metals containing stable interfaces are highly desirable for extreme environments applications. Here, we reported an attractive bulk Cu/V nanolamellar composite that was successfully developed by integrating interface engineering and severe plastic deformation techniques. The layered morphology and ordered Cu/V interfaces remained stable with respect to continued rolling (total strain exceeding 12). Most importantly, for layer thickness of 25 nm, this bulk Cu/V nanocomposite simultaneously achieves high strength (hardness of 3.68 GPa) and outstanding thermal stability (up to 700 °C), which are quite difficult to realize simultaneously in traditional nanostructured materials. Such extraordinary property in our Cu/V nanocomposite is achieved via an extreme rolling process that creates extremely high density of stable Cu/V heterophase interfaces and low density of unstable grain boundaries. In addition, high temperature annealing result illustrates that Rayleigh instability is the dominant mechanism driving the onset of thermal instability after exposure to 800 °C. PMID:28094346

Transoral Open Reduction for Subcondylar Fractures of the Mandible Using an Angulated Screwdriver System.

PubMed

Nam, Seung Min; Kim, Yong Bae; Cha, Han Gyu; Wee, Syeo Young; Choi, Chang Yong

2015-09-01

The management of subcondylar mandibular fractures has been a matter of controversy. Although closed reduction is the most useful method, it can be difficult to achieve anatomical reduction with this technique compared with open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF). Most surgeons prefer to treat subcondylar fractures by extraoral approaches rather than intraoral approaches because extraoral approaches provide good visualization of the operative field. The retromandibular, submandibular, and perilobular approaches are commonly performed in the treatment of displaced condylar or subcondylar fractures and that the functional results of these treatments are good. However, extraoral approaches have a high rate of surgical complications such as salivary fistula formation, visible scarring, and facial nerve injury, compared with intraoral approaches. Therefore, this clinical study evaluated the clinical results of ORIF for mandibular subcondylar fractures through a transoral approach using an angulated screwdriver system without endoscopic assistance. A study was conducted between March 2011 and October 2012. Eleven patients with subcondylar fractures of the mandible were treated through a transoral approach using an angulated screwdriver. There were 10 male patients and 1 female patient aged 21 to 72 years (mean, 38 years). Nine patients had a symphyseal or parasymphyseal fracture, and 2 patients had isolated subcondylar fractures of the mandible. Eleven patients with subcondylar fractures of the mandible were treated with a transoral approach using an angulated screwdriver. The subcondylar fracture was on the left side in 6 patients and on the right in 5. All patients achieved satisfactory ranges of temporomandibular joint movement with an interincisal distance of more than 40 mm without deviation and stable individual centric occlusion. The maximum operation duration was 165 minutes, and the average duration of ORIF was 97 minutes. The association between the operation duration and the number of operations was statistically significant. Our clinical study shows that subcondylar fractures of the mandible can be treated using an angulated screwdriver system through a transoral approach and that this technique provides reliable, satisfactory, and safe clinical outcomes.

Closed-Loop Control of Vortex Formation in Separated Flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colonius, Tim; Joe, Won Tae; MacMynowski, Doug; Rowley, Clancy; Taira, Sam; Ahuja, Sunil

2010-01-01

In order to phase lock the flow at the desired shedding cycle, particularly at Phi,best, We designed a feedback compensator. (Even though the open-loop forcing at Wf below Wn can lead to phase-locked limit cycles with a high average lift,) This feedback controller resulted in the phase-locked limit cycles that the open-loop control could not achieve for alpha=30 and 40 Particularly for alpha=40, the feedback was able to stabilize the limit cycle that was not stable with any of the open-loop periodic forcing. This results in stable phase-locked limit cycles for a larger range of forcing frequencies than the open-loop control. Also, it was shown that the feedback achieved the high-lift unsteady flow states that open-loop control could not sustain even after the states have been achieved for a long period of time.